Return of Regulus Black
by Indieblue
Summary: Known Death Eater Regulus Black was assumed to be dead years ago, especially when they found the disfigured body in the Thames with his house ring on its' finger. Years later the entire Wizarding World is not only shocked when he returns, but by who he brings with him; Notorious Mass Murderer Sirius Black, and a raven haired, grey eyed boy. (Wolfstar)
1. Prologue

**I have absolutely no impulse control.**

 **I've been talking about this for a little bit on tumblr, and I've finally given in...even though I'm writing three other stories, I'm giving you the prologue for this one.**

 **I'm warning you now. This one will probably get updated rarely, until I finish IWHGH (It Was Her Ginger Hair).**

 **If this is the first thing you've ever read by me, then hello, welcome, hope you'll stay a while. If you need more of things that I write, then maybe check out my other stories. Currently writing a Christmas Drabbles series, two time travel fics, and a war fic. The time travel fics involve the Marauders (they are amazing), and the war fic is a GinnyxTheo. I highly recommend IWHGH, not many people read it, but it's like my child. All of my stories are, but it was a special place in my heart. It is a bit more dark and twisty though, so you might not fancy that kind of thing. In that cause my time travel fics tend to be full of lovely feels, so there you go.**

 **Sorry about all the rambling, I'm soon done I swear. I hope you enjoy this, and I blame Shayalonnie and Colubrina entirely for this fic. I also love them both, and they are amazing writers. AMAZING.**

 **My wonderful beta: prattster666, it's here lovie xxx**

 **There are several other people who I like a lot and I know will be happy that I'm posting this, so this chapter is for them!**

 **My tumblr: indiebluecrown. tumblr. com**

 **Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling, only the story line and any OC's belong to me.**

* * *

 _Why is he always such a rash idiot?_ Grey eyes searched around the room. It wasn't much, a quaint three bedroom, two bath cottage with a kitchen and a living room. Currently one of the bedrooms was overrun with parchment, books and research. He'd been pouring over everything he could get his hands on for months. He needed something to bury himself in, and not thinking about _her_ only got harder every day. _My wand is somewhere in here_. He cursed himself not for the first time in the past few minutes as he squinted around the dimly lit room, searching for the eleven and a half inch, elm wand with a dragon heartstring core. Finally his eyes found it, resting on top of the stack of parchment he moved onto the bed a few hours previously. Swiftly crossing the room, he grasped it in his hand. _I need to be fast, that idiot doesn't have much time._

He strode out of the room, and paused to look at the middle door on his left, the door closed. He let out a deep sigh, hopefully he would be back soon, if everything went according to plan that was. _Which it practically never does._

Shaking his head, he headed towards the front door. The cold, crisp Autumn air cutting through his robes. Squaring his jaw, he turned to face the house, using a locking charm on the door, and checking the wards. _Still good. He better be grateful for the risk I'm taking for him._

Not wasting a moment more, he span on his heel and apparated; the leaves rustling and fluttering away as he did.

...

 _I don't think he could have incriminated himself more if he tried_ , Regulus scowled, looking down at the unconscious form of his brother. There was blood everywhere, Regulus had to give it to Pettigrew; he may be a spineless rat, but he managed to frame his brother quite brilliantly.

Regulus heard shouting in the distance and knew his window of opportunity was closing. Part of him wanted nothing more than to leave Sirius here; leave him to whatever fate he had inadvertently brought upon himself. "Fuck it," Regulus cursed, leaning down and lifting his brother onto his shoulder. One final glance was spared to the muggles splattered around the area, well what was left of them. _I'm sorry you all got involved in this, so sorry._

Sirius seemed to be rousing and made an incoherent noise. Regulus pointed his wand at his brother with some tricky manoeuvring, and muttered under his breath, " _stupefy_."

"I think I see something!" A gruff, deep voice yelled, and Regulus could make out the vague outline of a large man, robes whipping out behind him. _The one time the Auror department decided to efficiently do their jobs just has to be the time I'm in the middle of saving this fool._

Regulus had to act now, or they would both be going to Azkaban. That just wouldn't do, he couldn't afford it. He _needed_ to get back to the cottage. _The things I do for you brother._ Regulus was about to apparate when he noticed Sirius' wand on the ground by his foot, " _accio_ Sirius' wand." Smirking in satisfaction when the wand entered his hand where his own wand was clasped.

"Hey you!" Regulus didn't wait for the man to get closer, he was still far enough away that he couldn't see either of their faces in the darkness; Pettigrew had burst the streetlight bulbs earlier.

Regulus didn't hesitate a moment longer, spinning on his heel and with a loud crack that ripped through the air, he and his brother were gone. Leaving in their wake the aftermath of unfortunate tragedy.

...

Birds chirping, sunlight pouring onto his face, causing spots to dance across his closed eyelids. The window to the left of his bed was cracked slightly, letting the breeze in to dance around the room, and he found he couldn't move just yet. Everything ached too much; he tried to wiggle his fingers and was relieved when they moved.

He opened his eyes and was greeted by an enchanted ceiling; it was quite similar to the one in the great hall, and he saw dark, stormy clouds gliding across it, the sky a bluish-grey. _Where the fuck am I?_

It took him ten minutes to sit up, holding his head in his hands. Pain radiating throughout his body as his limbs protested. That's when it hit him, hard. James and Lily were dead.

Sirius closed his eyes and flashes of the house played across the backs of his eyelids. The door blown clean off, the rubble, James' half buried body, his hazel eyes that normally danced with mirth were staring lifelessly up at the ceiling, wand laying a few feet away from his open hand. Sirius had seen red then, he couldn't, wouldn't believe it. He was snapped back to his senses by the sharp cry that rang through the air, it gave him hope again. _Harry._ Sirius had never moved so quickly in his life, running up the stairs two at a time, finding Harry standing in his crib wailing, bright green eyes locked on his Mother. Lily's hair was covering her face, her body laying at an unnatural angle. Sirius couldn't bear to look at her. Sirius strode over to Harry, the boy quieted slightly at his touch, his little fist curling around the fabric on Sirius' shoulder.

When Sirius left the house he came face to face with Dumbledore and Hagrid. "Mister Black, if you would be so kind to return Harry Potter to me," Dumbledore said calmly, but Sirius could sense the threat from looking him in the eye.

"You don't think I'm responsible for this do you?" Sirius hissed, tightening his hold on Harry; who was now sniffling and rubbing his face into Sirius' shoulder.

"Who else? You were the secret-"

"WRONG." Sirius yelled a bit louder than he meant to, Harry flinched at the sudden, offending noise and a fresh bout of crying began. "Shit, I'm sorry, Harry," Sirius rocked the boy back and forth, rubbing his hand lightly across the boy's back.

"What do you mean?" Dumbledore frowned curiously, taking a step closer to Sirius, who took note of the several feet between them and narrowed his eyes.

"I knew that they would come after me if I was secret-keeper. So we agree to let Wor- _Pettigrew_ take my place." Sirius spat the name as if it physically pained him.

"You did not inform me of such a change," Dumbledore pushed his half moon spectacles farther back onto the bridge of his nose; Sirius saw that he began to doubt whatever conclusion he had come to.

"I thought I was doing what was best for...Jamie and Lily. For Prongs. For _Harry_." Sirius choked out, angry tears spilling down his cheeks. Then he didn't know what came over him in that moment, but he needed to find Peter and he needed to make him pay. "Take...take Harry until I get back," Sirius pleaded. Right now the people he trusted were very few, the list practically obliterated in the last hour. Something in Dumbledore's eyes however told Sirius that he would keep Harry safe, at least until he got back.

"Where are you going?" Dumbledore asked even though he already knew the answer.

"To make him pay for what he did," Sirius promised darkly as he handed Harry over to the older wizard.

Peter had rambled on about how much power the Dark Lord possessed when he found him; that Sirius wouldn't, couldn't understand. Before Sirius could even throw one spell, Peter used a slicing hex to cut off his pinky. There was a bright flash of light, and Sirius heard joyful laughter as a group of muggles headed their way. He opened his mouth to warn them, but it was too late. That was all he remembered. Which made him repeat his previous question, _where the fuck am I?_

Sirius stood up on shaky legs and slowly, but surely made his way to the bedroom door. Taking in a much needed breath, he paused with his hand on the door knob; the short walk across the room had winded him. _I suppose it's time I figure out exactly what I'm dealing with._

Sirius pulled the door towards him, cautiously stepping into the doorway, leaning against the door frame. Raven hair. Pale skin.

"Impossible," Sirius rasped out, eyes rounding.

"Come now, brother. I thought you of all people would never let that word fall from your lips," Regulus turned around, lips pursed.

"You're _dead_ -" Sirius' emotion overcame him then, tears filling his eyes and blurring his vision.

"Are you really going to do that?" Regulus rolled his eyes, "we weren't particu-"

"You're alive," Sirius sobbed, holding his free hand over his mouth.

"Very much so," Regulus smiled softly, his brother may be an idiot, and for the past several years they have been at odds, but he did still love him.

Sirius had been so focused on Regulus he didn't notice the bundle of blankets in his arms, "is that?" His question was answered by a soft, gurgling noise that arose from the blankets.

"Brother, meet Caelum, my son." Regulus' grey eyes were locked on the bundle in his arms, a tender and loving expression on his face.

* * *

 **If anyone cares to know, this whole thing started because Colubrina and Shayalonnie were talking about what would happen if Luna was sent back in time to the Marauders Era based on an anon's question. How Luna would be friends with Regulus Black, so even though this is a bit different. They created this beautiful mess of words that I've concocted. I hope you enjoy, and remember to please leave a review and let me know what you think!**

 **Love,**

 **Indieblue xxxx**

* * *

 **This is a little note from the future lol, on August 21st, 2016. I just posted a new chapter last night, and thus ending Part 1 of this fic. I thought I ought to let you all know that. Right, I hope you enjoy the story *hearts***


	2. Broken

**My exams finished yesterday and I'm now a free girl!**

 **Well sort of, all my friends are coming home for the Holidays and I'm so darn excited about it. Either way I'm going to have more time to write, and I got some inspiration earlier, and now here we are.**

 **I'm just going to clarify here. Regulus, Sirius and Caelum and Luna are the main focus of this story, however we aren't going to see Luna until her first year at Hogwarts.**

 **I wrote part of this before I saw a post on tumblr earlier, but it just riled me up again. Kind of hate Dumbles to be honest. On one hand he's that sweet, lovable old man, on the other he's a manipulative bastard.**

 **My tumblr: indiebluecrown. tumblr. com**

 **Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling, and only the story line and any OC's belong to me.**

* * *

 **Monday, November 16th, 1981**

 **Regulus Black's Cottage**

Most nights now he was woken up by crying or screaming, sometimes a combination of both. Broken. The pained sobs would have woken Caelum up as well if he hadn't cast a silencing charm on his room. He needed to hear it though. Sirius would protest every morning after, but they both needed each other. Even if they didn't quite want to put it into words. He was still haunted by his own nightmares, but they didn't plague all of his dreams anymore. Some nights were better than others however.

Tonight was one of the worse ones.

 _"Reg, I love you," she whispered as she held his face in between her hands, coughing and she looked as if she was desperately trying to keep her bright hazel eyes open._

 _"Emmie, no, no, please. I can't do this without you," Regulus choked out, trying his hardest not to blink, he didn't want to miss a moment. Fearing that the instant his eyes closed, even for a fraction of a second, that she would be gone._

 _"You have Caelum. Make sure to take care of my beautiful boy. Reg, take care of yourself," A strong determination filled her eyes, she needed to know they were going to be alright, that both of her boys were going to be okay._

 _"I will, I promise, love." Regulus took in a shuddering breath, "I love you, Emmeline."_

"NO! PRONGS. PRONGS!" The shouting pulled Regulus from his own nightmare, his eyes snapped open, and he ran a hand through his damp hair; it was short and cropped close to his head for the first time in years. _Great, I just had to dream about one of the worst moments in my life._ Regulus pressed the heels of his palms against his eyelids, gathering himself before he went to go wake his brother up.

Sighing, he threw the sheets back off of him, and swung himself out of his bed, silently padding out of his room. Since Sirius started staying with them, he had to shift all of his research around the room and off his bed; previously he had been sleeping in the spare bedroom, and even though Sirius offered to sleep on the couch, Regulus wouldn't hear a lick of it.

Regulus glanced at Caelum's closed door, and made a mental note to check on him after he had dealt with Sirius. Opening his brother's door, the screams only got louder, and Regulus winced at the sharp noise.

Sirius was curled up in a ball, his sheets kicked off at some point and tangled around his ankle, hands thrust into his hair, tears rushing down his cheeks even though he was still sleeping.

"Sirius," Regulus had found through trial and error that the best approach was just to hold Sirius when he got like this. It was the only thing that calmed him down. Regulus carefully slid into the bed and gently removed Sirius' hands from his hair, pulling his brother into his arms.

"Reg?" Sirius croaked after a few moments.

"I'm here, Sirius," Regulus whispered.

"Thank you." Sirius responded reticently before letting sleep claim him again, his breathing steady and even.

Regulus waited a few more minutes before detangling himself from Sirius, and exiting his brother's room. Glancing over his shoulder to see Sirius snuggling down into his pillow, hands curled under his chin.

Regulus cracked his knuckles before checking in on his son. Caelum was peacefully slumbering away in his crib. Caelum is what kept him going most days, reminding him that he did have something to live for. Regulus leaned on the crib railing, ensuring not to make too much noise. Thoughts drifting back to his brother in the other room. _It seems I have not only one, but two people to look after now._

...

The next morning Sirius woke up before he did, and was currently rocking Caelum back and forth whilst watching the kettle boil. A plate with toast already sitting neatly on the table, a pan on the stove and eggs on the counter. Regulus leaned against his doorframe, crossing his arms across his chest and studied the man who had been hollering down the house the night before. It was if it had never even happened, especially not when Sirius turned towards Regulus and grinned brightly; it didn't quite reach his eyes though, and his dark circles were more prominent today.

"Tea? Coffee? Eggs or toast? Anything I can get you?" Sirius asked chirpily.

"We should get you some dreamless sleeping potion," Regulus stated calmly, sitting down at the kitchen table, grabbing a piece of toast. It was a little browner than he would have liked, but he buttered it and bit into it nonetheless.

"From where?" Sirius asked bitterly, picking up his mug filled with coffee; Sirius liked it black, no cream, no sugar. Regulus had scoffed the first time he watched his brother drink it like that.

"You think I conjure up all this food from thin air?" Regulus quirked an eyebrow, and Sirius rolled his eyes at him, placing Caelum into his outstretched arms.

"Magic?" Sirius snarked.

"Polyjuice potion," Regulus narrowed his eyes.

"So that's you got around unnoticed," Sirius' eyes widened, nodding appreciatively.

"One of the ways," Regulus waved his hand dismissively, smiling when Caelum started curling his fist against Regulus' cheek, grey eyes locked onto his Father.

Sirius regarded the exchange quietly; Regulus was surprised that his brother hadn't asked about Caelum's Mother yet. Sirius wasn't particularly known for his tact.

Regulus frowned deeply when he saw Sirius' eyes light up with an idea. _I know that look. Whatever it is, it isn't going to be good._

...

 _In light of the You-Know-Who's defeat, there has been some disturbing news that came to our attention, pertaining to the unfortunate events which led to the Potters death; save for Harry Potter, who is now being called The Boy Who Lived by the public. An insider has informed us that Sirius Black, Harry Potter's Godfather and long-time friend to the Potters, not only betrayed their trust by revealing where their home; a home under the Fidelus Charm, was located to the Dark Lord, he also murdered thirteen other innocents that same night. One of them being one of his closest friends, Peter Pettigrew. The remaining twelve were Muggle bystanders who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time._

 _At this current moment in time, Sirius Black is at large. The last persons to see Mister Black were Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts, and Rubeus Hagrid. Both parties are refusing to speak on the matter, even though the Headmaster did spare a few words to let us know that Harry Potter is safe and sound._

 _You-Know-Who may be gone, but some of his followers are still on the loose and unaccounted for, so ensure that you stay vigilant at all times until they are all captured and sent to Azkaban. Currently several Death Eaters are awaiting trial and are set to be sentenced sometime over the next month._

"Dumbledore!" Remus Lupin burst into the Headmaster's office. The older Wizard had been expecting the Werewolf, and merely smiled lightly at him as he folded his paper neatly, placing it face up on his desk in front of him.

"Mister Lupin-"

"Don't Mister Lupin me!" Remus yelled angrily, eyes flashing amber and gold, teeth bared. "I have lost everything. _Everything_. Over the past few days. I am not in the mood to tolerate any of your bullshite today!"

"I don't think I understand what you mean," Dumbledore's brow drew together.

"Sirius? Killing Peter and those muggles? Tell me what really happened!" Remus demanded, a low growl ripping from his teeth.

"I am unsure at this point if Sirius Black was the secret keeper or not since in the brief moments I saw him that night, he denied being such. However, I do know that he left the Potters that night with the intention to kill Mister Pettigrew," Dumbledore said calmly, Remus narrowed his eyes. Dumbledore did not appear to be lying, but he knew from personal experience that the man had a way of manipulating things so that they suited him.

"Where is Harry?" Remus leaned against the Headmaster's desk, now eye level with the other man.

"Safe. He is currently with his relatives-"

"You sent him to live with _Petunia_? The woman that detested, hated all things magical? Not to mention her husband loathed the Wizarding World as well. Referred to us scornfully as _those_ people. Who knows what will happen to Harry with them!"

"I'm sure that Mister Potter will be fine-"

"I'm going to get him," Remus stated firmly, grim determination on his face as he stood up.

"Remus," Dumbledore said softly, eyes hard. "Due to the legisla-"

"Fuck the legislation," Remus muttered under his breath.

"You and I both know that you can't afford to take care of yourself or Mister Potter, it's best for him if he stays with his Muggle relatives."

" _Best_ for him? What would be best for him is if he still had his parents. What would be best for him is if he isn't raised in a household that most likely will not treat him with anywhere near the level of love or respect that he deserves. He should be with his real family, Sirius and I. We are all he has left. We're pack, we're family, and I refuse to believe that Sirius is the one who killed those Muggles and Peter. Much less that he betrayed Prongs and Lily." Remus spat with a venom that Dumbledore did not know the young man possessed. "I'm going to find him, and we're going to get back our boy." Remus said with a finality that made Dumbledore purse his lips. The older Wizard watched as the Werewolf left his office just as quickly as he had come. _I wonder how this will play out._

* * *

 **I hope you liked it! Please leave a review and let me know what you think.**

 **I'm off to write drabbles and shorts for my Christmas request series. Think another Dramione is up next!**

 **Love,**

 **Indieblue xxx**

 **P.S. If anyone has any theories or anything like that , I'd love to hear them. This entire thing is an AU basically, and so much fun to write.**


	3. An Unexpected Visit

**Happy New Year all you lovely people!**

 **I've basically figured out where I want this story to go, and it's going to be split into two parts. This is part one, which is what happens between when Regulus saves Sirius until September first when Caelum starts Hogwarts.**

 **If there is anything in particular you wish to see, then I'm open to suggestions. How Regulus survived will happen somewhere in part one, so look forward to those bits. I got the idea for the tapestry from Shayalonnie. Seriously, check out her stories, they are amazing.**

 **My tumblr: indiebluecrown. tumblr. com**

 **Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling and only the story line and any OC's belong to me.**

* * *

 **Thursday, 17th February, 1981**

 _"The tapestry, Reggie," Emmeline frowned, sitting on the floor; her head thrown back to look at the ceiling._

 _"I charmed it before we got married Emmie, remember?" Regulus responded, bending down to kiss her forehead._

 _"I was just wondering if it'll work when Caelum is born," Emmeline pursed her lips in thought, hand automatically moving to rub her swollen stomach._

 _"Don't worry, love. It'll work," Regulus assured her._

 _"I think we should charm the ceilings to show the stars and sky like in the Great Hall," she scrunched up her nose, pushing her lilac hair out of her eyes. It had grown a great deal since the first day he met her. Back then it had been a couple inches below her ears, now it came down to the small of her back. A lot does happen in five years, the two of them were living proof of that._

...

Dead end after Dead end. Nothing he tried seemed to work. Everything he did was an exercise in futility. There was no legal action he could take to get Harry back from the Dursleys. Petunia was officially listed as Lily's next of kin. If Sirius was here, and not wanted for mass murder and suspected of being a Death Eater; then things would be different. Most people didn't even know where Harry was, just all that Dumbledore had said, "Harry Potter is safe and sound."

One afternoon Remus stroked his chin thoughtfully and seriously considered going to Privet Drive and demanding that Petunia hand Harry over. It was beyond mental. Crazy. Exactly what Sirius would have done. That same afternoon, he found himself diving into his Father's liquour cabinet, withdrawing several bottles of Firewhisky. Drowning his sorrows.

 _I can't go to Privet Drive. Dumbledore would find me and take Harry in no time. I could leave England, but that may provide too difficult, seeing as I don't have enough money or any connections to help smuggle me out of the country. Getting an international portkey set up when you've just stolen away the 'Boy Who Lived' would not be easy. Prongs would have loved that. 'Boy Who Lived'._

Remus stared at the bottle, touching his lips to the spout, tossing some of the burning liquid back. He knew he shouldn't drink. He always felt like absolute rubbish afterwards, he wasn't sure if it was because he was a Werewolf, or because he couldn't hold his liquor. Either way he knew it was a horrid idea, a terrible idea, and he was most certainly going to regret it in the morning. _Lily would have hated what they are calling Harry. James would have hated what they're saying about Sirius. Can't imagine they'd be terribly pleased that Dumbledore sent their son off to live with Petunia either._ Remus didn't even notice he was crying until a teardrop fell onto his hand. All of the emotions that he'd been keeping bottled up, gushed out all at once. His Mother dying before the War ended, Lyall dying last month, James and Lily. Sirius. Peter. All of it. Before he knew it, he was openly sobbing, his cries rebounding through the empty house.

Somehow he managed to put the bottle on the small table beside him. His hands moving to clutch at his hair, then rubbing violently up and down his face. He was experiencing an overload of emotions, and his body didn't quite know how to deal with it, how to let it out.

Everyone was gone. Everyone. He was all alone. It had never occurred to him that this could happen, that he would outlast the majority of his friends. Being a Werewolf, he was the one that had a shortened life span, he was the one who had been sent to spy amongst the Werewolf packs; not entirely expecting to make it out of there alive. It was all a nightmare, one that didn't go away when he woke up. It was always there, crushing down on him, swallowing him whole, making it hard to breathe. At some point, he passed out from the emotional exertion and turmoil he was going through, holding his face in his hands as he curled up in his armchair.

The morning after his migraine was practically unbearable, his vision was a bit distorted and blurry, and he felt how he did the morning after the Full Moon, but tenfold.

It didn't help in the slightest that there was this light knocking on the door. _What? Who could that possibly be._ Everything was spinning when he managed to stand up, shakily making his way to his left, when he finally reached the wall, he sagged in relief against it. Slowly walking to the door, each step was torture, and his brain felt like it had been pasteurised.

When he finally reached the front door, he opened it with some effort, leaning now against the doorframe. Wincing and rubbing his eyes with how bright the sun was.

"Good morning, Remus," Pandora Lovegood stood there happily, a small bundle in her arms. A baby girl, whose silvery blue eyes were watching him curiously; Remus' eyes widened when he saw her cock her head to the side and smile. Shaking his head and deciding that there was no way that the little girl understood what was going on, chalking it up to him being hungover.

"Pandora?"

"I just popped in to see how you're doing. I don't have many friends anymore, and I sense that one of the few that remained needed some help." Pandora said airily, "may I come in, please?"

"Yea, course. It's a bit dinghy, but-"

"It's quite lovely in its' own way. It's sad because of the things that happened here, the house feels your pain, Remus." Pandora said a bit sombrely as she entered the house.

"You said help a friend? Were you referring to me?" Remus frowned, slowly piecing together things, his migraine hindering most linear trails of thought.

"Here, drink this," Pandora's free hand dove into her pocket and she held up a small round bottle up, filled with translucent, lavender liquid, "it'll help. Trust me."

Remus looked at the bottle dubiously, but he complied nonetheless, nodding gratefully as he gently took the bottle from the Witch. Taking a deep breath before removing the stopper, bracing himself to be hit with a pungent odour of some sort like most medicine he's ever had to take had. However it smelled _soft_ , delicate, and he felt the fog in his mind start to disperse. Still a bit cautious, he took a tentative sip, the light liquid sliding smoothly down his throat, it felt like silk caressing his insides.

"What is that?" Remus asked after a few more sips, feeling exponentially better instantly.

"Just something I whipped up, I'm glad it helped," Pandora smiled, strolling across the room and gently placing her daughter in the armchair that Remus had previously occupied.

"What's her name?"

"Luna," Pandora smiled proudly. "Unfortunately she most likely will not have any siblings." Remus balked at her statement for a moment, unsure exactly how to interpret it.

"I do hope you will take care of her in her second year, Remus," Pandora commented lightly, having made her way back over to him.

"Her second year?" Remus asked a bit perplexed.

"Oh, how silly of me. At Hogwarts."

"Hogwarts..." Remus whispered the word reverently, "what do you mean, Pandora?"

"Oh, that would spoil all of the fun. Do take care of yourself, Remus. I expect you should see him soon, that should help ease the pain of not being able to get Harry from those Muggles." Pandora smiled gently.

"Would you like some tea?" It was the first thing that came to mind, and even though he wanted to ask who she was referring to, he knew the chances of getting a straight answer was highly improbable.

"Oh, I wouldn't want to impose, Remus," Pandora shook her head, reaching out to grasp his shoulder. "It has been quite lovely to see you, I think it may be best if I go now. It is soon time for Luna's nap." Pandora glided over to her daughter, there was always something ethereal about the woman, her feet never seemed to touch the ground.

Remus followed her as she head towards the door, opening it for her, and she nodded gratefully at him. "I do hope to see you soon, Remus," Pandora added before she began to walk away.

"Get home safely!" Remus called after her, just as she disapparated away. Part of him was curious as to the effects on an infant that would be caused by apparation, but the rest of him was utterly exhausted. It had been a pleasant, albeit a tad odd visit.

That night Remus slept a bit easier, Some of the things that Pandora said, whilst terribly perplexing were also comforting in their own way. He was hopeful and determined to either find Sirius or gain custody of Harry. Tomorrow was a new day, and for the first time in months, things didn't seem so grim.

...

 **Wednesday, January 6th, 1982**

 **Regulus Black's Cottage**

"No."

"I just want to contact Moony," Sirius said for the umpteenth time.

"I'm telling you it's a terrible idea. Dumbledore probably has him wrapped around his little finger." Regulus rolled his eyes, watching Caelum roll around in his crib, waving around his rattle; it had been his Mother's and even though it was over twenty years old, it was still its' original deep blue colour.

"We don't know that," Sirius argued, taking a long drag from his coffee cup.

"It's too risky either way, the same way we can't use barge into those Muggles home and steal back the 'Boy Who Lived'. We'll have the entire Wizarding World looking for us with a fervour unrivalled by anything else," Regulus reminded his brother for the millionth time. Sirius had not shut up about taking Harry back from his Muggle relatives since he had learned of his whereabouts. Regulus still had his ways of retrieving information, so whilst it was slower than he would have liked, this way they knew some of what was going on in the Wizarding World.

"How did you even find out that's where he is?" Sirius had asked suspiciously months ago.

"I have my connections, big brother," Regulus has responded vaguely.

"Fine, if we can't go rescue Harry from those rotten Muggles, then at least let me talk to Remus."

Regulus looked up from his son and met his brother's pleading eyes, in a cold tone he replied, "if you must, but if you get caught I'm not going to be able to save you this time."

...

That was how Sirius Black found himself sitting in front of Lupin Den in his animagus form, tongue sticking out of his mouth. For the most part it looked deserted, but Sirius could smell him, Remus, _Moony_. Regulus had given him a bit of polyjuice potion just in case, but Sirius had opted not to use it.

His ears perked up when he heard shuffling, and the smell got stronger. Remus smelled like parchment and grass after it had just rained.

Sirius was suddenly hit with how bad an idea this was if Regulus was right. If Moony did believe what the Prophet-what _everyone_ said about him. How he betrayed Prongs and Lily, and killed Peter and twelve Muggles all in the same night. Shaking his head, he decided he needed to get out of here. Everyone else's hatred he could handle, Moony's? It would be unbearable. He couldn't lose him too.

Sirius stood up on all fours, his tail swishing behind him as he got up and began to trot away.

"Sirius?" His voice was so broken and small, Sirius froze in his tracks, twisting his head back to look at the only one of his best mates that he had left.

"Sirius, you're...here," Remus had tears streaming down his face, hand clutching at the front of his holey jumper, the other thrust into his hair, knuckles white.

Sirius shifted, taking a hesitant step towards his best friend. "Moony, you're looking as dashing as ever," he said with a shaky smile.

Before Sirius could say anything else, Remus closed the space between them and hugged him tightly. Sirius could feel his body wracking with broken sobs, and after a few minutes his hands moved to encircle his friend.

"I didn't do it Remus, Peter was the secret keeper, he betrayed Prongs and Li-" Sirius started before Remus' lips crashed over his. A bit taken aback, Sirius stood frozen. Remus pulled back quickly, cheeks red, eyes a bit puffy, looking utterly horrified.

"I-I-I didn't mean to-"

Sirius didn't let him get another word in, before he grasped Remus' cheeks gently. Softly, voice barely above a whisper he murmured, "Moony." Sirius pressed his forehead against Remus' closing his eyes tightly. He had missed his best friend, the person who was always there for him, who had forgiven him for what he did in Sixth year. The stupid, stupid, _stupid_ thing. The boy he had a crush on for years, who had flourished into a man. Now the two of them were so broken, their naivety crushed and they were still in their early twenties. Eyes that used to be filled with such hope, were haunted by things they had seen. "I love you, you idiot."

Sirius didn't see Remus' reaction as much as hear it. The Werewolf's heart rate quickened and a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

"I love you too, Pads."

* * *

 **Two things. Yes this is a Wolfstar, and if that makes you unhappy or uncomfortable. Sorry, I am. That is how it's going to be however. If you don't ship them, that's fine, but I really wanted to have one of my stories involving those two lovable idiots together.**

 **Second, I'm really torn between them stealing away Harry and raising him with Caelum and leaving him with the Dursleys (trust me, that idea hurts my heart), but I have this distinct feeling that then I'll have to deal with Dumbledore. I can't see him letting go of Harry that easily, especially without a fight.** **Colubrina's 'Like Brothers' is beautiful in that way, Harry is raised with love, with Sirius, Narcissa, Lucius and Draco and ugh all the feelings. So I'm really thinking about stealing him away, but I have an entire plot written out where until his first year his life with the Dursleys is the same and unchanged (mainly).**

 **Please review and let me know what you think! :)**

 **Love you,**

 **Indieblue xxx**


	4. One Day, We Will

**Happy Monday everyone! I hope you are all having a lovely day :D**

 **There is a bit of time skipping in this chapter, please do not be alarmed.**

 **If I haven't responded to your reviews yet, then I'm sorry! Really, really sorry. (For everyone who did review, thank you so, SO much).**

 **In case any of you were interested, I posted a mini series on the weekend, about Luna Lovegood and Theodore Nott; I would love it if you checked it out!**

 **For those of you who read It Was Her Ginger Hair, I should have a new chapter up soon! :")**

 **My tumblr: indiebluecrown. tumblr. com**

 **Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling, only the story line and any OC's belong to me.**

* * *

 **Saturday, January 9th, 1982**

 **Number Four Privet Drive, Little Whinging,**

 **Surrey, England, Great Britain.**

 **The Dursley's**

He just needed to see him. That was what he argued when Regulus and Remus told him that it was a rash and terrible idea.

Sirius scratched behind his ear with his hind leg as he hid in the bushes outside of the Dursley's. Recalling how Remus and Regulus meeting again after all of these years was certainly an _experience_ to say the least.

 **Three Days Previously**

 _"ARE YOU MENTAL?" Regulus snarled, wand still pointed in Remus' direction. The Werewolf was gobsmacked. Sirius hadn't mentioned that he was staying with his supposedly 'dead' brother._

 _"Look, Reggie...Remus is on our side. He told Dumbledore to stick it up his arse. Of course he probably said it a lot more eloquently that I did but-"_

 _"Sirius Orion Black, listen to me, and listen to me carefully when I say this," Regulus said in a deceivingly calm tone. "Just because you two were friends, and you used to pine after him like a pathetic lap dog. Does NOT make it okay to jeopardise our location or-" Regulus paused and gave Sirius a meaningful look. Hoping his brother would understand what he meant._

 _Caelum. Of course, that's why Reggie is so livid, Sirius thought to himself. "Remus isn't going to betray us, Regulus. I promise. I would never have brought him here if I didn't think he was trustworthy."_

 _"You couldn't even come and talk to me about it before you did anything ludicrous and remarkably idiotic? Like I don't know, bringing someone you haven't talked to in months in our home? For all you know, this is just a ploy and Order members are on their way here right now."_

 _"Our home?" Sirius smiled broadly at that, and Regulus groaned, eyes meeting the green ones of the Werewolf on the other end of his wand._

 _"I don't know why I put up with him anymore than you do," Remus smiled tightly, raising his hands in surrender._

 _"How do I know you won't betray us?" Regulus narrowed his eyes._

 _"I could make an Unbreakable Vow," Remus suggested. Sirius' head snapped in his direction, mouth open and about to protest when Regulus spoke for him._

 _"I could perform Legilimency on you," Regulus proposed an alternative._

 _"My head isn't a very nice place, but if that will convince you not to obliviate me or whatever else you're considering doing...then so be it," Remus sighed. "Can I sit down at least?"_

 _"Fine," Regulus said stiffly, lowering his wand, but keeping it clenched in his hand._

 _"Moony," Sirius said softly. Remus had pulled up a chair at the kitchen table, and Sirius had followed after him, standing next to him, squeezing his shoulder reassuringly._

 _"It's fine, Pads, really," Remus assured him. Sirius wasn't convinced and he gave him a knowing look before Remus poked his hip and made a shooing motion._

 _"Not that this isn't particularly heart warming, but I really do want to get this over with," Regulus said, drawing attention back to him._

 _"Anytime you're ready," Remus nodded stiffly, the hand on his thigh was clenched tightly, Sirius noticed this and pulled up a chair next to him; prying open the same hand and lacing his fingers with the Werewolf's._

 _"Cute," Regulus snorted, raising his wand once more and pointing it at Remus, "Legilimens."_

 **Present**

Remus had been exhausted and fell asleep about an hour later in Sirius' bed; it turned out that he hadn't been sleeping well. Sirius sat in his armchair and watched Remus slumber away, somehow it didn't seem real. He had his Moony back with him again. They would need to talk about them later, they had skirted around their feelings for each other from fifth year, until Remus went away to go join the Wolf packs. Not that the prat had told him anything about it. He had neglected to mention that delightful nugget of information. So this was all new, and quite frankly he was scared to death. Mainly though, he was happy. Happy. He had imagined that to be impossible after Lily and Prong's death. Little by little though, living with Regulus and Caelum had helped, and now that Remus was here, everything was almost right again. There was only one thing missing from his life now. Harry.

Which is why, despite all of their arguments and protests, he had travelled to Privet Drive. So far he hadn't noticed much. They seemed perfectly ordinary, bland, normal. What was perplexing was he was watching Petunia, Vernon and a very fat little boy pack up and get into their car. It looked as if they were dressed up to go to a fancy party. The boy had a little bow tie on, a beige jumper, black trousers and shiny, black shoes. Petunia had on her pearls, and a fancy hat that made him want to gag. The main thing that confused him, was Harry was nowhere in sight. Nowhere. Had they given him away? They couldn't possibly be leaving him at home by himself. Sirius tried to hear what they were saying and he caught the end of the conversation.

"Petunia, where are you going?"

"We forgot the boy." _The boy? He has a ruddy name!_ A low growl rumbled in his throat.

"We could leave him in the car until the party is done," Vernon suggested, sounding as if bringing Harry was a great impairment on his life. _This is better than living with Remus? Dumbledore has got to be out of his mind._

"Then people would see, we need to bring him inside" Petunia responded as she returned, carrying Harry in her arms. It almost looked sweet, if not for the sullen and miserable face Harry was making. _Harry_. His heart surged at the sight of his beautiful, beautiful boy. Then fury filled him, he had never seen a one and half year old look so upset and sad in his life. Harry rubbed at his eye with one of his fists, and began to kick up a fuss when Petunia tried to strap him into his car seat. Vernon leaned back and screamed at the little boy, "SHUT UP. SHUT UP. You should be _grateful_ we're even bringing you with us."

Sirius snarled, ready to do something entirely reckless, and take Harry away from these horrid people. When everything went black suddenly.

When he woke up, he was in his bed. Remus was looking at him sadly; holding one of his hands in his as he sat on the edge of the bed. Regulus was in the doorway, arms crossed, head bowed as if he had a great interest in the floorboards.

"You stunned me, didn't you, Reg?" Sirius said hoarsely.

"How astute of you. You were about to do something stupid, I couldn't let you do it."

"They're horrible people, Reggie. I can't just leave him with them," Sirius grumbled, the hand that was not currently grasping Remus' tightly was now thrown over his eyes. The image of Harry crying still fresh in his mind.

The room was silent for a long time, until soft cries could be heard from Caelum's room. Regulus nodded his head at Remus, and right before he left, he said, "If it were me, and my boy was with people like that...I would be furious as well. We'll get him back one day Sirius, it may not be tomorrow, it may not be for years. I promise you though, one of these days, we'll get our boy back."

Sirius' eyes widened and he quickly sat up, however his brother was already in the room next door. _Our boy. He said our boy._ Sirius turned to Remus, and without uttering a word, leaned in and kissed him. Remus smiled into the kiss and his hands moved to thread themselves into Sirius' hair. It wasn't long, but it was soft and it was exactly what he needed in that moment.

"One day, we're going to get him back Remus. We will." Sirius whispered, hands framing Remus' face, his thumb stroking his cheek. _We will._

...

 **A Year and a Half Later**

 **Tuesday, May 10th, 1983**

 **Black Cottage**

"Caelum! Get down from there!" Regulus demanded of his almost two year old.

Caelum had decided, (with a little encouragement from his Uncle) that it would be a marvellous idea to climb up onto the dresser in his bedroom. With a great deal of effort on the little boy's part, he had gotten into his bed, and somehow pulled himself onto his white dresser. The top of the dresser was quite broad, and thankfully the only thing on there was Regulus' worn copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard.

Sirius on the other hand was delighted, "did you get up there all by yourself? That's brilliant, Caelum!"

"Don't encourage him you twat," Regulus grumbled beside him. Waving his hand and levitating the boy onto the ground. Crossing the small room, smoothing the corner of the square, dark blue carpet that had been flipped up as he went, he asked "Where is Remus?"

Sirius leaned against the doorframe, watching happily as Caelum ran into his Dad's awaiting arms, patting his Dad's cheeks when he lifted him up. Caelum's raven hair was a messy mop on the top of his head (much to Regulus' dismay), his grey eyes sparkled with wonder at all the new things he learned every day. There was a dusting of light freckles across his nose. Sirius assumed he got that from his Mother, his cheeks weren't as chubby as they had once been, and he didn't want to brag, but his nephew was one of the cutest children he had ever seen. _I can't believe he's going to be two next month. Time has just flown by._ Sirius' mind was brought to another young boy whose birthday was soon upon them. Harry. _July 31st. He is going to be three._ A longing pang rang through him as he thought about his boy. He doubted that the Dursleys had given him the presents Sirius had left the year before on their doorstep. Ducking away just in time to catch Vernon frowning harshly down at the neatly wrapped gifts, his mouth drawn into a rigid line. Sirius was quite proud of himself for wrapping them, Remus had assisted of course, but _he_ did most of the work. Vernon had bent down, and with his thick, meaty fingers, gruffly picked up the packages and went back inside.

"Sirius!" Regulus abruptly drew him from his thoughts, repeating the question that he had asked thrice now. "Where is Remus?"

"He said he'd be back in a bit, went to go get some food he said," Sirius replied, grinning when he thought about how the Werewolf was most likely going to end up buying too much chocolate as per usual.

"Alright," Regulus nodded, silent as he moved across the room again, stopping by his brother and in an almost teasing tone, hands covering his son's ears said "you need to stop forgetting to put up silencing charms when you and the wolf are shagging like dogs."

"Technically-" Sirius' sly comment was halted in its' tracks by Regulus' raised hand.

"Sirius please," Regulus fixed him with a stern stare, but Sirius could see the laughter in his eyes. _Tosspot. Lucky I can't say 'naughty' words in front of Caelum._

At that moment Remus had arrived home, shutting the front door back with his knee. Arms laden with paper bags; pausing to kick his shoes off, and toe them neatly into place next to the mat.

"Moony!" Sirius grinned brightly, striding over to him and taking a couple of the bags from him. After they both placed the bags down on the counter, Sirius kissed Remus soundly, nibbling on his bottom lip before pulling away and commencing his perusal of the groceries.

"I swear, without you around he's got no self control whatsoever," Regulus grumbled, sitting Caelum down at the kitchen table, pouring him a glass of Pumpkin juice. Leaning against the counter, watching the boy as he began to sing nonsensically. Caelum was learning at a rapid rate how to speak, but today appeared to be one of the days where he was 'expressing' himself as Sirius liked to call it.

"Trust me, I know," Remus grinned crookedly, kissing Sirius' cheek and slapping his arse before heading past the living room, down the hall and to the bathroom.

"Sirius," Regulus said pensively after a few moments on their own; Sirius glanced up from the bag, a liquorish whip hanging out of the side of his mouth.

"Mmmf."

"Idiot," Regulus mumbled inaudibly under his breath, raking his hand backwards through his short hair. Unlike Sirius, he liked to keep his short as of recent years. "That invisibility cloak that used to belong to...Potter." Sirius froze, grey eyes meeting his brother's. Swallowing thickly, he stepped back from the bags, removed the whip from his mouth and quietly regarded his brother.

"What about it?"

"I've been thinking about it for a while now...I may be wrong. This is going to sound a bit like I've been touched in the head, but do you remember the tale of the three brothers, from Beedle the Bard?"

* * *

 **I hope you liked it!**

 **Please leave a review :)**

 **Love you guys,**

 **Indieblue xxx**


	5. Emmeline

**Right. This week has been a bit tough in terms of having amazing, phenomenal and beautiful people pass away. David Bowie who is brilliant, and now Alan Rickman, who for all of us in the HP fandom is near and dear to our hearts. I don't like Snape, I love how detailed and well fleshed out his character is, but I do not like him. Alan Rickman played him perfectly and he was such a brilliant actor. I just don't have the words.**

 **I'm not sure if you'll notice it or not, but I did add a bit of David Bowie in this chapter, I had always planned to have a song, but then I thought it only right to have one of his in this chapter.**

 **I'm going to try and respond to all the reviews between sometime after I post this and tomorrow! I'm so, so happy that everyone who reads this seems to like it :D**

 **This chapter is for those amazing people that I loved, and also a few others. For SableUnstable, HenriaSownbinder, M1sch1efManaged and Prattster666. I love you all! xxx**

 **My tumblr: indiebluecrown. tumblr. com (which is full of Alan Rickman at the moment)**

 **Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling, only the story line and any OC's belong to me.**

* * *

The air was chilly, the trees were rustling, their leaves had turned various shades of orange, red and yellow. The sky was a light grey, dark, brooding clouds languidly travelling through the air. The wind whistled sharply as the boy walked across the forest ground, twigs crunching under his boots. Stopping at the base of a tree not too far from the edge of the forest. He secured his rucksack diagonally across his body before reaching up to grab one of the lower branches, bracing his foot against the tree trunk and pulling himself up; already prepared to grab onto the next branch. After a few moments of manoeuvring he sat himself against the base of the tree on one of the branches about twenty feet off the ground.

His eyes were closed as he ran one hand backwards through his raven hair, sighing deeply through his nostrils as he did. The dark smudges under his eyes from lack of sleep were startling against his pale skin. The quiet sounds of nature around him soothed his stressed soul, the crease in between his brows from his constant frowning as of late smoothed out.

For a few moments it was peaceful. For a few moments he was truly alone, aside from the insects and small woodland creatures that were going about their own business. Then she appeared.

Frosty blue hair that was just below her ears, bright hazel eyes filled with awe and wonder, pale freckles dusted her features. She was wearing black leather pants, black heeled ankle boots, a jumper to match her hair, and a thick black cardigan over it. Of all things though, she was humming. _Humming_. Less than a minute later however, she was singing.

 _"Who knows? Not me, we never lost control, you're face to face, With The Man Who Sold The World."_ The girl sang in a haunting voice, and he couldn't pull his gaze away from her, she had a bright yellow rucksack on her back, her hands holding onto the straps.

Suddenly for whatever reason, the strange girl stopped and her head tipped upwards and she spotted him; the only indication that she had seen him was an arched eyebrow. The silence somehow seemed deafening now, hazel eyes stared intensely into grey ones.

Feeling the need to break through it since he was beginning to feel exposed, as if by looking into his eyes she could see all the things he tried to hide from the rest of the world, he spoke. "May I help you?"

"Unless you want to come with me to see the Thestrals, then no," she smiled warmly up at him. She had dimples he noticed.

"Why are you going to see those creatures? They're-"

"Death Omens?" She tilted her head curiously at him. "They are quite kind creatures in fact, Regulus Black. One should not fear what one does not understand." Then she had the audacity to make a happy little noise and start to walk off.

"Wait! How do you know my name?" Regulus yelled after her.

"Why don't you come with me and find out?" She glanced back over her shoulder, grinning wildly.

It made no sense. His limbs were moving before he knew what was happening. Nimbly he scaled down the tree, landing on the ground with bent knees, and hair in his face. His hair was getting quite long at this point, pretty much covering his ears, he shook his head, shifting the hair out of his eyes and took off after the girl. The crisp Autumn air passing over him, hitting him full in the face, his cheeks pinking slightly from the air and from running. She had gotten quite far, so it took a few minutes to catch up to her.

Regulus caught up to her and tried to maintain his composure, tucking his hair behind his ears, breathing through his nostrils, hand moving to adjust his bag.

"I know your name because you're the Slytherin Seeker, you're brilliant at Potions and Transfiguration, you're Black's younger brother, and most importantly," The girl paused and angled her face in his direction. "I think you are interesting." _Of course, it's because I'm the Seeker, my name is called throughout the game...plus it's not like grey eyes and raven hair is common in the Wizarding world. I clearly wasn't thinking._

"Interesting?" Regulus snorted. _I left my tree, my solitude, for this?_

"You don't have a clue who I am, do you?" The girl asked after a few moments of silence, eyes focused ahead of her, brow drawn together slightly.

"No," Regulus drawled, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Emmeline Vance, I'm in your brother's year. I'm in Ravenclaw," she turned towards him with that warm smile again and he cleared his throat as his chest tightened uncomfortably.

"Muggleborn?" Regulus didn't know why he was still talking to her, he didn't know why Mudblood suddenly seemed like the worst word in the world. His mind was a mess because of this girl and it didn't make a lick of sense.

"Is that a problem?" She looked at him again, a quirked eyebrow and she was studying him carefully. _She had really thick eyelashes, I wonder what her natural hair colour is. Her eyelashes are a dark brown colour. She doesn't seem like a brunette though._

"If it was, I wouldn't still be here would I?" Regulus replied dryly, he flinched at the laughter that pealed out of her; he hadn't been expecting it, not in the slightest.

"How is that amusing?"

"It isn't really," Emmeline responded, and Regulus could see the smile lines by her eyes creasing. _Then why did you laugh? She really is strange._

The rest of their walk was done in utter silence until they came across a clearing, finding six grown Thestrals and a few of their young.

"Can you see them?" Emmeline asked quietly.

"Yes. I take it you can as well," Regulus whispered reticently back.

"You would be correct," Emmeline sat on the ground, removing her rucksack off her back, lifting the flap and reaching inside. After a few moments of rifling around she pulled out a sketchbook and a few drawing pencils. "You can sit down if you want."

"What kind of girl gets up at the crack of dawn, to find Thestrals and draw them?" Regulus asked incredulously.

"Me," She answered simply, shrugging her shoulders.

Regulus shook his head, not understanding this girl at all. Broken images of her passing him by in hallways flashed through his mind all of a sudden. Sighing heavily he sat with his knees bent, hand linked and resting on top of them.

It wasn't his tree, and he would never admit it. However it was peaceful here, it was quiet with the exception of the Thestrals and the sounds of pencil scratching across the surface of the paper. He closed his eyes. _I suppose this isn't horrible._

...

Two weeks later was the next time he spoke to her. She was a Sixth Year, and he a Fifth. Regulus spent most of his time in the library, it was his OWL year and his parents expected nothing short of excellence. There was a corner of the library that he inhabited that just happened to be hidden enough that most wouldn't see him, yet he had a direct line of sight to the table Sirius and his friends usually used when they came into library.

Today Lupin was dutifully ignoring the rest of his friends as he buried his nose in his book. Sirius was silently twirling his wand around, clearly trying to complete non-verbal magic. Pleased when the teacup transfigured into a flask. James Potter was doing something similar, whilst jotting down notes, and Pettigrew was frowning deeply as he tried to discern something on a few pieces of parchment in front of him.

Then _she_ walked past his brother's table, smiling in greeting at her fellow Sixth Years before heading directly in his direction. Regulus clenched his jaw, pausing in his writing. _She can't possibly be coming over here? What in Salazar's name does she want?_

"Hello, Regulus," Emmeline was all smiles as she stopped on the other side of the table from him. A stack of books floating in the air behind her, he recognised her sketchbook in her arms that held it to her chest; the ghastly (in his opinion, it was abnormally bright) yellow bag on her back. "May I sit with you?" Regulus glanced out of the corner of his eye and met his brother's eyes. Sirius was quietly regarding him; they didn't speak much these days, when Sirius actually returned home, it wasn't long before he did something to offset their parents. It didn't take long before he was gone again. _Most likely to the Potters._

Breaking eye contact first, he turned his attention back to the girl with the Frosty hair. "You can do whatever you wish," he replied coolly. Back stiffening as he heard the chair across from him move across the floor. His eyes flicked up again and he saw Emmeline had placed her stack of books beside her, and was currently putting her bag on the floor next to her. Emmeline reached up to tuck her hair behind her ear when it fell in her face, she was putting her sketchbook in her rucksack; pulling out several pieces of parchment and a quill instead.

Regulus began to notice a few other things about the girl, she had two piercings in each of her ear lobes; the top ones were small silver bobs and the bottom ones were intricate silver leaves. For what kind of plant he was unsure. There was a small scar above her left eyebrow, and she pursed her lips when she was deep in thought.

Emmeline had quickly commenced her studying, hand moving furiously as she took noted and read through one of the tomes beside her. Just like in the forest, it was pleasant almost, quiet. Not the same as before, but still peaceful.

Neither of them said anything as they studied; Sirius and his friends had left ages ago by the time either of them was finished studying. Regulus sat back, satisfied that he had finished up his notes on the Vanishing spell for his next Transfiguration class and his essay about the Giant Wars for History of Magic. Stretching his arms above his head, eyes tightly shut, he heard his back crack and sighed in relief. _That's much better._

When he opened his eyes again, he found that Emmeline was watching him with a small smile.

"What?"

"Nothing," she shook her head, going back to her books.

"Why did you want to sit with me?"

"Honestly?"

"That would be preferred," Regulus scoffed.

"I find you fascinating, Regulus Black," Emmeline scrunched up her nose this time when she smiled.

"Are you both almost done?" Madame Pince came and asked them quietly, startling both of them, though Regulus hid his surprise, his eyes widening the only indication that he had been taken off guard.

"Yes, please," Emmeline answered for them.

"Alright, the library is going to close soon, it's almost time for curfew."

Emmeline's eyes widened, and a low curse passed through her lips. "I have rounds tonight, I didn't even notice it was this late. Emmeline pulled out her wand, and with a few swishes and flicks, her closed and moved into a pile, her parchment and quill disappeared into her bag. Hurriedly she got up, shooting him an apologetic look, she pulled her bag onto her back, and tucked her wand behind her ear. "I'll see you soon, Regulus!" She promised in a loud whisper, rushing out of the library, the books floating behind her returning to their shelves as she passed by them, her hands moved in their directions as she ducked and wove between desks and bookshelves. Soon she was out of sight, leaving him on his own.

...

Regulus walked off the Quidditch pitch, broom in hand, wiping sweat off of his forehead. The sun was setting behind him, casting long shadows in front of him as he walked. Ahead standing there in her school uniform still was Emmeline.

"Emmeline? What are you doing here?" Regulus frowned, over the past two and a half months they had become regular study partners. He would be sitting in his corner and she would join him. Some days they talked a lot, throwing up silencing charms so they wouldn't disturb others, others they spoke little to not at all. He had gotten a lot closer to the Ravenclaw, finding himself looking forward to seeing her.

Emmeline's robes were open, her tie loose, and her top button done. Her yellow bag standing out on the grass next to her.

Regulus glanced around him quickly but found that they were alone. He had come out here to practice some drills by himself, and had taken a bit longer than he originally anticipated to. What he hadn't expected to see was Emmeline waiting for him.

"Regulus," Emmeline sounded oddly serious as she stepped towards him until there was only a few inches between them.

"Emmeline?"

"You know that you have gorgeous eyes right?" Emmeline tilted her head to the side, hands moving to grip the front of his shirt. Regulus swallowed thickly.

"I suppose," he responded, his voice cracking mid sentence.

"There were a bunch of girls in the Common Room earlier going on about how fit you and your brother were. How lovely the Black brothers were," Emmeline paused, her eyes moving up to meet his, "and I was seething inside. I didn't understand why you see." _Where is this going?_ "It hit me then. Violently." Emmeline moved closer, until their chests were touching, her hands fisting handfuls of his shirt now. "I've gone and fallen for you. I'm not sure when it happened, and quite frankly I don't care. I just had to tell you, and I hope you at least like me back. I mean you might find me repulsive, and only hang out with me as a friend and see our relationship as entirely platonic and-" Regulus cut off her ramblings when he dropped his broom and moved to wrap his arms around her lower back. Every part of them touching now.

"Shut up," Regulus growled before ducked his head and claimed her mouth. She smelled like the sea. Kissing her felt like he was standing on the edge of the cliff and he had jumped off and straight into the dark sea below. It felt right. Emmeline made a happy little noise in the back of her throat, much like the one she made the day they met. Lips moved languidly against each other, her hands had moved from his chest upwards until they were fisted in his hair. She didn't seem to care that he was sweaty from practicing just now, she just tasted like mint and her tiny, happy moans made him not think for once. Think about what a terrible idea this was. He wasn't his brother, outright defying their parents. He was the _good_ son. How complicated his life would be if he admitted to himself that he was in love with the petite Ravenclaw in his arms. She was a whole foot shorter than him.

Emmeline jumped up and wrapped her legs around his waist, he walked forward until her back gently hit the wall of the Slytherin changing room. His hands moving to pull on her shirt, un-tucking it from her skirt, his palms laying flat on her cool back. Emmeline nipped on his bottom lip, heavy pants, hot kisses, light tugs on his tresses.

"Reg," Emmeline panted out, resting her forehead against his.

"Yes, Emmeline," Regulus asked, trying to get his breathing under control, rubbing his hands up and down her back.

"Does this mean I get to hope you don't see us as just friends?" She smirked crookedly, even in the dying light he could see her perfectly. _I'm well beyond the point of no return now. Bloody hell. You know what? Fuck it._

"Fuck yes."

* * *

 **I hope you enjoyed the chapter! We'll probably end up back in the 'future' so to speak/ present with toddler Caelum, Sirius and Remus being adorable and Regulus of course. I'm thinking about having Dumbledore make an appearance in the next chapter, but I'm not quite sure about that yet to be entirely honest with you.**

 **Please review! :)**

 **Love you,**

 **Indieblue xxx**


	6. She's Dead

**Hello!**

 **I know the last chapter was entirely dedicated to the beginning's of Regulus and Emmeline's relationship, and that was insanely fun to write, and I'm so glad everyone liked it :D**

 **Honestly I'm not 100% sure what the overall tone for this chapter is, but I suggest you arm yourself with tissues in case it gets emotional for you.**

 **There are a few hints in this chapter, and I hope everyone likes it!**

 **Oh, I almost forgot, Cariad is mentioned in this chapter, it means love/ sweetheart in Welsh...which Remus is apparently? That was something really fun that happened on tumblr yesterday.**

 **I should mention that my muse was/ is obsessed with writing It Was Her Ginger Hair at the moment, which is why I've updated five times this month...wow, that's insane. Seriously love all of you for reading any of my stories. You are all amazing!**

 **Please leave a review :)**

 **My tumblr: indiebluecrown. tumblr. com**

 **Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling, only the story line and any OC's belong to me.**

* * *

 **Tuesday, May 17th, 1983**

"Pads, Pads. We can't just up and take him to the park without Regulus knowing," Remus frowned deeply, leaning against the wall by the front door; dressed and ready to go. He was wear a black jumper with a light blue geometrical pattern adorning it, dark grey trousers and black shoes. Sirius on the other hand was wearing black leather pants, a plain white t-shirt with the arms cut off and black lace up boots, the laces were undone at the top; which annoyed Remus to no end.

"Pup, do you want to go to the park with Uncle Moony and Uncle Sirius to play with the other children?" Sirius kneeled down in front of Caelum, buttoning the little boy's red and black plaid shirt. The toddler eagerly nodded his head, holding his sippy cup in his hands.

"Ye," Caelum grinned brightly, squealing happily when Sirius lightly tickled his sides.

"See, it's fine. I wrote a note and left it on the counter," Sirius said as he stood up, leaning down to pick Caelum up and brace him on his hip.

Remus stared at him blankly for a long, long time. Exasperated, rubbing his temples, he repeated, "A note?"

"It's not like we're going to Diagon Alley, we're only going to the park in muggle London," Sirius insisted. "Well more like you, your little boy and his trusty canine are," Sirius wriggled his eyebrows.

"Moo-ey!" Caelum exclaimed, expressing his desire to be held by his other Uncle; Sirius pretended to be hurt, but handed the little boy over anyways.

Remus sighed, rubbing the little boy's back as he laid his head on Uncle's shoulder, "you know there is a chance he'll kill us when we get back?"

"You're overreacting!" Sirius waved Remus' worries away, kissing him soundly on the lips and taking the hand that wasn't holding Caelum. "Now let's go, shall we?"

...

Regulus got home around midday; he had gone to watch Grimmauld Place. Remus had heard a rumour that the Matriarch of the Ancient and Noble house of Black had gone mad, her mind deteriorating after the death of her late husband. So he took a flask of Polyjuice potion and camped outside for the better part of the early morning. Which is what his mornings had consisted of for the past week. No one went in and no one came out.

Regulus' mind drifted to the conversation he'd had with his brother a week prior.

...

 _"Is it possible that the Deathly Hallows actually exist?" Sirius had whispered quietly._

 _"I'm not sure, but it makes sense. That's not all though. I found something of the Dark-Voldemort's and I don't think it's the only one," Regulus started, he knew once he opened this can of worms Sirius was bound not to let it go._

 _"What did you find? Did you destroy it?" Sirius questioned curiously, he refused to meet Regulus eyes though, hands on either side of the paper bag of groceries in front of him._

 _"I didn't get a chance to...but he made a horcrux, Sirius. Dark, dark magic. You rip your soul in half every time and place it in an object." Regulus said after a few moments; wondering if he was doing the right thing as he saw the fire spark in his brother's eyes. Ever the Gryffindor, always ready to rush into danger._

 _"So...there's a chance he can come back?" Sirius queried, frowning deeply, flexing his hands that lay across the kitchen counter._

 _"I believe so, yes," Regulus responded hesitantly._

 _Remus returned from the bathroom after peeking in on Caelum to make sure everything was alright and found his boyfriend panting heavily, staring at the shattered remnants of their teapot._

...

 _I need a drink,_ Regulus thought to himself as he opened the door to the cottage, wiping his feet on the mat and closing the door behind himself. The house sounded eerily quiet. "Sirius! Lupin!" Nothing. Panic filled him and he breathed in and out in a panic, noticing a bright neon pink piece of paper on the counter. Frowning deeply, not even bothering to take off his shoes he headed towards it. Picking it up between shaking fingers.

 _DON'T FREAK OUT._

 _We've taken Caelum to a muggle park in London, I'll be going as Padfoot so there will be no chance of anyone recognising me. I know you're probably pissed, I know you're going to want to throttle me, and then Moony for indulging me._

 _The boy hasn't interacted with anyone besides us in his entire life, he needs to meet kids his own age. I know this probably isn't the way you wanted him to meet other children, either way, see this as kind of a test run._

 _I'm not going to let anything happen to your son, Regulus. He's our boy and he's one of the most important people in my life. I would die before I let him get hurt._

 _If you still want to hex me when we get back, feel free._

 _Also, Moony informed me of this, this morning after he went to the Ministry for some boring stuff; he overheard that Mother has been checked into St. Mungo's. He doesn't know what happened, all he knows is that apparently that she was ranting and raving when they took her in._

 _Your beloved brother,_

 _Sirius._

Regulus instinctively crumpled the note, breathing in and out deeply. Sirius had a point about him meeting other children his age, but at the same time, he was still going to hex him when he got back.

Hearing about their Mother was interesting news however; Regulus was torn about how he felt about his Mother. She hadn't been the warmest, the kindest or even nice, but she was still his Mother. Of course he knew that Sirius' feelings about her vastly differed from his own, but he doubted that even he was okay with her being sick, or whatever was going on. _I could...no, that's a terrible unwise idea...I can either sit here and worry about Caelum and those two numbskulls, or I can go and see what exactly is going on with Mother._

Regulus sighed deeply as he made his decision, it was risky, but something in him was telling him that he needed to go and see the Black Matriarch.

...

 **An hour later** Regulus found himself in St. Mungo's, highly alert and aware of his surroundings. He had been around other witches and wizards since his 'death', but never on this scale. Sticking his hand in his robe pocket, he brushed his fingers over his flask filled with Polyjuice; needed the reassurance that it was there.

He was suddenly struck that he had no idea which floor his Mother was even on, or what was wrong with her. The last thing he wanted to do was go and ask where she was; the less attention drawn to him the better. _I suppose I'll have to go and walk around until I find her room, knowing her she'll have insisted on being in a private room, away from the 'Mudbloods' and other filth._

Regulus traipsed up stairs, walked down hallways, until he found what he was looking for. On the chart on one of the doors in messy handwriting was _Walburga Black_ , an errant thought occurred to him that she might be awake, but he dismissed it; taking a deep breath he placed his hand on the cool brass knob, and turned. What he was greeted with was far from what he had been expecting.

A starch white sheet covered the body lying on top of the hospital bed. The blinds were drawn, small rays of sunshine peeked through, looking almost drawn to the body. Regulus stumbled backwards and knocked into someone.

"I'm sorry-" The female healer with warm brown eyes started before seeing the ashen colour of his face, saw how heavily he was panting, her eyes glanced to her left into the room and understanding rushed into her eyes. "Did you know the deceased? The only living relative she has is," the lady's voice dropped to a low whisper, "Sirius Black." She said his brother's name as if it was taboo, continuing in a normal voice, "She didn't have any visitors, poor lady. One son a Death Eater and died too early, her husband taken from her, and her other son a Notorious Mass Murderer."

Regulus couldn't help himself, maniacal laughter bubbled out of him, holding one hand to his forehead, the girl looked quite frightened by this, eyes wide she began to back away. Regulus' other hand shot out and grabbed her upper arm, a bit harsher than he intended, and in an amused tone he asked, "what was wrong with her?"

"Dragon Pox," the healer answered quickly, Regulus immediately let go of her, guilt filling him as he saw her wince, and her hand move to grasp her own arm before she fled.

 _She's dead. Mother is dead._ Regulus didn't know how he felt about that information, glanced back at the body under the sheets he swallowed thickly before taking small steps into the room, shutting the door behind him with a soft click. Maybe his Mother's paranoia was rubbing off on him, but he threw up silencing charms and a locking charm on the door before he said anything. Regulus wasn't sure where the words were coming from, but they poured out of him, his tone harsh with indignation. "You weren't a good Mother, you punished us for the most mundane things, you forced your ideals on us. You told us Muggleborns were filthy and disgusting. YOU WERE WRONG! Muggleborns don't steal our magic, they can be just as brilliant as anyone else. The only real difference between us is we grow up with magic, whilst they don't know anything about it until they are eleven and thrown into this completely strange, new world. A world with its' own history and rules and ideals." Regulus took a step closer, unsure why he was yelling at his Mother's corpse, all of the emotions he kept finely bottled up were breaking free. "Muggleborns are beautiful, with ice blue hair and hazel eyes. Pure and exquisite, she was beautiful. Because of your rubbish ideals she was an outcast! Your ideals are what caused me to be a Death Eater, unaware of exactly what I was getting myself into! I was fucking sixteen! SIXTEEN! She was beautiful, and now she's gone. She's gone," Regulus sank to his knees then, heavy tears pouring down his cheeks, holding himself. The only sound in the room now were his pained sobs, bouncing and amplifying in the hospital room. The sterile white walls were closing in on him now, it felt like he was drowning. "She's gone," he repeated in between wet gasps.

Regulus didn't know how much time had passed since he had been in here, he did know that the Polyjuice Potion had worn off at this point. He reached into his pocket, fingers grasping the flask firmly, popping the top he brought it to his lip and took a long drag. Grimacing at the foul task, he put down the cover and pocketed the flask. _It's time to go home._ With one final look at his Mother, Regulus took down the charms, and exited the room, hood pulled over his head; the lady healer watching him slip out of the building, lips pursed.

...

It was a bright and sunny day, which meant that everyone was in the park. Caelum was ecstatic because he had never seen so many people in one place before; it wasn't long before he found a small group of children and was playing pretend with them as they ran around in circles. Remus was sitting on a park bench, directly in line with the small boy, eyes dancing with happiness as the raven hair boy's laughter reached him.

A soft whining from the ground next to him drew his eyes away, and Remus rolled his eyes when he saw Sirius raised head. The large black dog was lying on the ground, his hind legs under the bench. Remus had picked this spot since it was nice and shady, not to mention, if they needed to leave in a hurry they could do so inconspicuously.

"What's wrong with you? Is it the collar and leash?" Remus teased Sirius, who nudged Remus' leg at that comment, laying his head in between his front paws on the ground. "Are you pouting? I told you that you needed to put on a leash if we were going to do this," Remus laughed softly.

Sirius' head turned slightly and blew out a heavy breath. Remus rolled his eyes, "admit it Pads, you secretly like it." Sirius yawned, and turned his head back in Caelum's direction.

Remus fished his camera out of his trouser pocket and aimed it at the little boy, snapping it when he was by himself, twirling in a circle. When the picture came out of the top of the camera, Remus' smirked. Caelum was twirling around in a circle, a large grin on his face, he stopped for a moment and looked in Remus and Sirius' direction, waving happily, grey eyes sparkling with joy.

"He is growing up fast isn't he?" Remus asked aloud to no one in particular, a woman on the bench not too far from them, heard his question, followed his line of sight and responded with a polite smile on her face.

"He is an adorable little boy, they do grow up fast, don't they?" Remus' head snapped to his right, not expecting anyone to answer him.

"Thank you, I'll be sure to let his...Mother know," Remus plastered a smile on his face, he could feel Sirius' eyes on him, probably have a right laugh in his head. It was the only thing that came to mind, if he said he wasn't Caelum's Father that would just cause unnecessary conversation; oh he prayed this was just one of those cordial conversations that only lasted a few moments.

"My daughter is over there," the woman pointed at a little brown girl with bouncy curls and a devious smile that was playing with a few other little girls not too far away from Caelum.

"She is very pretty, I take it purple is her favourite colour?" Remus cursed himself mentally for saying something to further the conversation.

"I don't mean to be rude, but when you said tell his Mother, are you his Father, or a family friend looking after him, or an Uncle?"

Remus frowned deeply at the question, and noticed the slight blush that tinged the mocha skinned woman's cheeks. "Why?"

Sirius snorted beside him and looked directly at Remus' shaking his head just a fraction before putting it back down again.

"I was just wondering...because I wanted to know if you were single or not."

"Oh-"

"If you were I was going to ask if you wanted to go out for coffee or something sometime," the woman said confidently, the blush still present on her cheeks. "I'm not married or anything in case you were wondering. It's just Maddie and I."

"I'm flattered, I am," Remus said with wide eyes, "b-b-but I'm currently in a relationship with- well, either way, t-thank you," Remus was now blushing furiously, running a hand through his sandy brown hair.

"Oh, well you can't blame a girl for trying, you're fit," the woman shrugged, "I'm Claire by the way."

"How rude of me, Remus," he responded quickly, blushing even more fervently after her compliment.

Remus heard quick, little footsteps running towards him, tuning all the other noises out and turned his head just in time to see Caelum bounding towards him. Holding out his hands, he lifted the happy boy up when he was within reach, placing him in his lap.

"Ucle Moo-ey!" Caelum giggled when Remus kissed his forehead, giving the boy his sippy cup when he reached for it. "Time to go 'ome?"

"Are you tired, Bud?" Remus asked, aware of Claire paying attention to the whole interaction. Remus heard her heart beat a bit harder when she heard Caelum call him Uncle.

"Yep," Caelum nodded before returning to his drink.

"Then I think we should head home then," Remus said, looking once more at Claire, "nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too, Remus," Claire grinned, displaying her bright white teeth.

Sirius stretched before standing up, staring at the leash next to him in disdain and watched as Remus picked it up.

Remus began to make his way out of the park, Sirius trotting along next to him on his left and Caelum on his right hip, small arms wrapped tightly around his neck, face buried in Remus' chest.

...

When they got home Sirius was holding the leash and collar in his hands, saying that he wasn't quite sure if he wanted to go out again if he had to wear a ruddy leash again, Caelum was recounting his fun that he had with his playmates to Remus, who was avidly paying attention.

They didn't notice how dark the house was at first, didn't notice the figure seated in the armchair facing the door.

"Regulus?" Sirius frowned, snapping his fingers and turning on all the lights.

Regulus had a bottle of Firewhisky on the table next to him, an almost full glass in his hands, his grey eyes staring at them, but it didn't seem like he was actually seeing them. His boots were haphazardly strewn on the floor in front of him, coat and outer robes on the floor beside them.

"She's dead," Regulus deadpanned. Remus sensed that Caelum should probably not be present for whatever conversation was bound to follow, scooped the boy into his arms and hurried to the boy's room. Only when Sirius heard the soft click as the door closed did he respond.

"Pardon?"

"Mother is dead."

Sirius took an unwitting step back, not sure what to say to that. His Mother had been extremely strict when he was growing up, though he could tell she loved him, if only because he was a Black. That had changed when he was sorted into Gryffindor. Disdain, disappointment, crass remarks whenever she could slip them in. Punishing him for little to no reason had followed. Until she snapped when he was sixteen and she threw him out. Screams of "Blood Traitor," followed him on his heels as he fled his childhood home. Promising himself that he was never, ever going to go back. It had brought him nothing but pain and misery. Filled with dark magic. The walls seeping darkness and despair. Cold. That's all that place was. Cold.

"What happened?" Sirius whispered lowly, accepting a glass of Firewhisky from Regulus before he sat down heavily on the couch adjacent to Regulus.

"Dragon Pox," Regulus responded in a cool tone, with red rimmed eyes, staring into the glass filled with amber liquid.

Sirius was at a loss for words, flinching when Regulus began to chuckle softly.

"We're officially orphans," Regulus said dryly, hesitating before placing the glass to his lips. A few moments later he tipped his head back and downed the glass.

"Reggie-" Sirius tried before his brother interrupted him.

"She's dead Sirius and I don't know how I feel...does that make me a bad person? She was our Mother."

Sirius paused, his next words fought him on the way out, and he needed a large swig of Firewhisky after they came out, "She loved us...in her own way. She did."

With that Regulus broke down for the second time that day; silently Sirius walked over to him and pulled him into a hug. She may not have been a good person, but she was their Mother, and she had been a big part of their lives for years. The two brothers stood there as the sun set, as the stars came out, as Remus fell asleep on a chair inside Caelum's room, the little boy sprawled across his chest. They mourned.

In the late hours of the night Sirius went to get Remus from Caelum's room. Regulus picked up the sleepy boy and carried him to his room, that night he held his son protectively as he slept.

Remus slept curled around Sirius. Playing with Sirius' raven locks, pressing soft kisses to his love's neck. His love. His Cariad. Before he went to sleep however, he took the picture he had taken earlier in the park, found an empty picture frame in one of the kitchen drawers and tucked the photo into it. Placing it on the kitchen counter, deciding to let Regulus place it wherever he wished when he woke up in the morning.

Sirius was already asleep by the time he silently re-entered the room, Remus smiled wryly before climbing in behind him, tangling his legs with Sirius'. It had been a long, long day. Remus drifted off, but before he did he saw another little boy with Raven hair and bright green eyes.

* * *

 **Love you all,**

 **Indieblue xxx**

 **P.S. I was trying to figure out how I wanted the brothers to feel about the whole Walburga situation, and I couldn't quite pin down a specific emotion that they would immediately feel. I hope everyone likes this chapter!**


	7. A Terrible Tragedy

**HELLO!**

 **I've been writing snippets here and there for all of my stories when I've found the time, and I finally had enough (I wrote a lot today :p) to be post a new chapter.**

 **This chapter may or may not be a bit emotional, so I warn you, arm yourself with tissues and other comforting things.**

 **Also M/M slight smuttyness in this chapter, I want to say a certain someone will be happy about his, but I will wait to see her reaction :p It's actually my first time writing M/M smut...hmmm, well I mean, here you go.**

 **Again, this chapter has something quite sad in it, and I hope I managed to portray it well.**

 **(Side note, for those of you who don't read Fall Through Time...I hit 521 followers on it earlier today, which is mental! OMG. If you do read it then you are amazing. Basically it's one of my time travel fics with both Dramione and Remione in it. I have fun writing it).**

 **Please leave a review and let me know what you think :)**

 **My tumblr: indiebluecrown. tumblr. com**

 **Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling, and only the story line and any OC's belong to me.**

 **This chapter is for Sable since she made me feel extremely warm and special and happy today. Love you hun xxx**

* * *

 **Thursday, May 26th, 1983**

 **Full Moon**

Her long pale hair trailed down her back and pooled on the bed behind her. She hugged herself, tears silently running down her cheeks as the cold night air blew in through the window on the far side of the room. Taking a deep breath, she stood up on shaky legs and crossed the room to the door. Hesitating before she opened the door, placing her hand on the corridor wall as she moved silently down the hall towards her daughter's room.

It wasn't long before she came across the room that was on her right in front of her. There was a large window at the end of the hall which was letting in copious amounts of moonlight, it was the night before the Full moon and she found herself wondering how he was holding up.

Turning her silvery blue eyes on the slightly ajar door, she gently pushed against the dark wooden panels, the hinge creaking as the door swung inwards.

The moonlight was shining in through the window above her daughter's bed, bathing the small blonde girl in soft white light.

Pandora leaned against the doorway, arms hugging herself as she watched Luna slumber away peacefully.

"I'm sorry, my sweet. It seems as if a sibling is not in your future after all," Pandora said sadly, a hand automatically moving to her lower abdomen. Pandora had kept the news of her pregnancy from everyone, including Xenophilius. Something told her not to mention it just yet, and it turns out that that had been the right call.

Pandora wept silently then, a hand covering her mouth as she felt the first wave of pain hit her, she curled into a ball when the blood started running down her legs. Staining her white dressing down, one of the straps had fallen off of her shoulder. She had no idea how long she lay there, she didn't move when the pain subsided, she didn't move she felt the blood dry on her inner thigh.

Pandora swallowed thickly after what felt like an eternity, her hands shaking as she sat up, her knees wobbled as she stood up. Non-verbally and wandlessly, she scourgified the ground, pulling her nightgown over her head. With soft footfalls she moved back to her bedroom, glancing to her left when she entered she saw that her dear, sweet husband was still asleep, hand thrown over his eyes as he snored. Moving to the right of the room, she entered the bathroom, shutting it with a soft click.

Pandora put the nightgown in the tub before grabbing her wand off of the sink counter, murmuring, " _incendio_ ," as she pointed her wand at the white gown stained with blood that had dried a rusty brown colour.

Pandora watched it burn, the flames reflecting in her pale eyes. She could have simply vanished it, but she needed this. She needed to watch it burn.

After the dress was nothing but a lonely pile of black ash she vanished them with a flick of her wand, unable to bear looking at them any longer. Her lips trembled for a moment before she carefully climbed into the tub. Standing directly under the shower head as she turned it on. The blood running off of her and mixing with the remnants of the ashes; making the water in the bottom of the tub murky. Pandora was looking down at her feet, watching as the murky water swirled down the drain.

...

Pandora came downstairs about an hour later, heading straight for the kitchen. Something told her that her favourite people were already down there, and as she neared closer she heard her husband's jovial humming and she knew she had been right.

"Good Morning, my love," Xenophilius grinned brightly when he saw her come in, Pandora smiled but she felt the guilt gnawing at her insides. _Perhaps I should tell him. It wouldn't do any good. He'll just be saddened by that, and I think that would make this all the more horrible,_ Pandora clasped her hands together, kissing her husband on his left cheek before taking a seat at the kitchen table. He had prepared eggs sunny side up, toast with fresh strawberry jam that they had made together a few weeks back, and a few sausages for her. Pandora couldn't help but feel like the bright yellow egg yolks were mocking her, but she cracked some black pepper on them regardless, and began to dig in. Luna was sitting in her high chair, happily, quietly eating her cut up sausage, using her fork quite well. Pandora was proud of how intelligent and fascinated Luna was with everything around her.

"You were up early," Xenophilius commented as he placed the teapot in the middle of the table, turning around to grab two teacups before he sat down next to her. The corners of Pandora's lips twitched upwards as his knees bumped hers and then their skin stayed in contact after that.

Pandora's heart squeezed at that, and then she knew in that moment that she had to make a decision. Her eyes fluttered shut before she reached out to grasp Xenophilius's hand, feeling at ease when her hand slid into his. Opening her eyes she sighed heavily before saying, "I need to tell you something."

"Yes, my dear?" Xenophilius asked, brow drawing together in worry at how grim her tone was.

"I...I...last night," Pandora's throat closed up, and she found that she physically couldn't speak. Her words were failing her.

"Pandora?" Xenophilius squeezed her hand, urging her to continue in a comforting tone.

"I had lost our baby last night," the words came out of her in pained sobs, Xenophilius was clearly taken aback, the information not fully sinking in. Pandora pushed through her sobs, Luna had stopped eating and was now staring silently at her parents across the table. "I didn't tell you I was pregnant since it was still early, I was barely two months along...I-" Xenophilius cut her off by pulling her into him, she sobbed into his chest, clutching at the fabric on his back.

There were no words, what to say, instead he was petting her head, making soothing noises and rocking her back and forth. They understood each other without words, they always had. Even though everything seemed bleak, and the world had briefly lost the sparkle that normally enthralled her, she knew that things were going to be alright. Maybe not for some time, but she just knew. _I love you, Xenophilius,_ Pandora thought to herself, holding onto her husband for dear life. She knew other things as well, things that others may be hard pressed to believe, those ones however she would keep to herself. _I hope Sirius, Remus and Regulus figure it out soon. I wonder how Remus is holding up with tonight being the Full Moon?_

No one told her Regulus was alive, either way, she knew. She also knew that the Black brothers were suffering after the news of their Mother's passing. Pandora turned her head to the right and she caught the eye of her daughter. Yes, there were things she knew, things that ought not be spoken aloud.

...

Tonight was the Full Moon and as per usual, Remus was irritable, especially since his migraines were just getting worse as the day progresses.

Regulus had been attempting to successfully brew a Wolfsbane potion for the past year whilst also burying himself in his research about the Deathly Hallows and Horcruxes. For the most part he wasn't making any headway in any of his ventures, which frustrated him to no end. He didn't like not achieving results. Sirius and Remus had been helping where they could, but so far all they knew was what a horcrux was, and about one of Voldemort's.

Sirius had been meaning to broach the subject of one of them going to Grimmauld Place or getting Kreacher to bring the locket here, but since their Mother's death, things felt off-kilter. Sirius wasn't exactly sad, whereas Regulus seemed to pretend that it hadn't even happened.

Regulus and Snape had been quite close due to their similar circumstances with respect to both being Death Eaters. Regulus had spent a great deal of time with his fellow Slytherin, which is why he knew that Snape had made great strides in perfecting Wolfsbane potion, he had almost done it as well by the time he graduated from Hogwarts. Regulus knew he was close to replicating his friend's work, but there was something missing.

Sirius had been conducting his own research, a way to prove his innocence so that he could get Harry back. Remus had tried numerous times to get into contact with Dumbledore to try and convince him that Harry would be better off in his care.

A few days ago, moody and vehement because of the Full Moon Remus had stormed into Hogwarts; ignoring the odd stares he got from teachers and students alike. He had been running his hands through his hair, he was wearing a navy blue button down with the sleeves rolled up, jeans and black shoes. Not to mention the crazed look in his eye.

Remus managed to guess the password, and next thing he knew, he was standing in front of Dumbledore. Panting heavily, shoulders moving up and down, fists clenched until his knuckles turned white.

"Mister Lupin, may I help you?" Dumbledore asked, sounding almost amused.

"You know Sirius is innocent," Remus growled lowly, Dumbledore cocked an eyebrow in interest at that.

"Yet you won't investigate whether he is or not. You took Harry and you gave him to _Petunia and Vernon Dursley,"_ Remus spat the names of Harry's Aunt and Uncle venomously. "You refuse to answer my letters about challenging the Werewolf laws and Regulations so that I would be a valid caregiver for Harry. Why? What are you playing at?" Remus demanded, crossing his arms over his chest, fingers digging into his upper arms.

"Mister Lupin, as I have told you previously, my hands are tied in the matters of the Werewolf laws and regulations." Dumbledore said calmly. Remus snarled lowly, that was not the answer he wanted to hear. Both men knew that if Dumbledore really wanted to change something then he could, he had enough pull in the Wizengamot and was well respected throughout the Wizarding community. Remus thought back to an errant comment that Regulus had thrown into conversation. _"Perhaps the old coot doesn't want you to get Harry back. I wouldn't if I was him. Then when Harry is brought into the Wizarding World when he is eleven, his life now exponentially better than what he's had to suffer through for the past ten years. He's more likely to trust and follow blindly behind whatever Dumbledore spouts at him."_

"One day, I'm going to get Harry back, Dumbledore. I can assure you of that," Remus glowered darkly at a man he had once admired and tried to emulate. Remus lingered a moment longer than necessary, ensuring to maintain eye contact with the older wizard. Dumbledore's eyes that normally twinkled were now impassive as he silently regarded the Werewolf on the other side of his desk.

"Mister Lupin," Dumbledore called as Remus turned on his heel and began to stalk away.

Remus halted in his tracks, staring down at the ornate carpet beneath his feet, the patterns blurring together as he focused intently on it.

"There is much more going on than you know," Dumbledore murmured, resting his clasped hands in his lap.

Remus refused to acknowledge his former Headmaster a moment further, walking away. Leaving Dumbledore to his thoughts, _Remus Lupin is clean shaved, and he looks happy and healthy. Not like a man who is out of work because of the laws put in place would. I wonder why that is. Most curious indeed._

…

Sirius watched as Remus walked away from the house through one of the windows. He had requested that he go into the woods alone for when he was going to transform, _"you can join me later," Remus hissed agitatedly. Apologising when Sirius raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry, babe," Remus whispered, stepping closer to his lover and hugging him to him, wrapping his long, lanky arms around Sirius, kissing the man's temple._

 _Sirius merely grinned wickedly when Remus released him, "you want me to suck you off so you can get rid of some of that pent up stress?"_

Sirius smirked smugly as he recalled looking up Remus's body as his lips were wrapped around his cock. Remus's head had been thrown back, one of his hands fisted in their sheets, the other tangled in Sirius's hair. Sirius had one hand on Remus's hip, the other gently fondling the sandy haired man's balls.

When Remus thrust into his mouth and came, Sirius swallowed it all happily, climbing up his _cariad's_ body and hugging the panting man to him, hand brushing backwards through Remus's damp hair.

"I love you," Remus breathed, nose buried in Sirius's neck, taking in his scent, nipping gently at the soft skin there.

"I love you too, Moony."

Now Sirius was waiting, deciding how much time to give Remus by himself before he would shift into his animagus form and join him.

"Sirius," a voice rasped from behind him, Sirius turned around to see him brother leaning against the far kitchen counter, staring at him with an unreadable expression.

"Regulus, when was the last time you got any real sleep?" Sirius asked, concerned when he noticed how dark the smudges under his brother's eyes were, how he looked like he had lost some weight. Regulus was consumed with his work, determined to make a breakthrough. Sirius feared that the thing he would be breaking at this rate was himself.

Regulus ignored his question and instead asked one of his own, "if Dumbledore refuses to take Remus on about becoming Harry's guardian, what are we going to do?"

Sirius sighed heavily at that, pulling a hair tie off of his wrist and throwing his hair into a messy bun, "we have to prove that Pettigrew was the secret keeper and he was the one who killed all those muggles. To which we would need irrefutable evidence. In order to do that, we need Pettigrew."

"Where would he go?" Regulus queried, Sirius opened his mouth to answer when he realised that he had no idea. To that he felt slightly guilty. Peter had been their kind friend that was good at Herbology, loved chocolate frogs, curled up in a ball whenever they all slept in the same bed and the one who had learned how to make an insanely good cup of hot chocolate to help Remus around Full Moons; yet Sirius had no idea where he could be.

"I have no idea," Sirius laughed disbelievingly, hands on his hips. "I have no ruddy clue, Reg."

"We'll figure it out, Sirius...we always do," Regulus smiled faintly, "now go on, Moony is waiting for Padfoot to join him." Regulus grabbed his mug and the chocolate chip cookie he had taken out of the cookie jar. Regulus silently padded towards Caelum's room, most likely going to wake him up for his shower and to eat his dinner. He had gone down for his nap later than usual that afternoon which is why Regulus was only now going to wake him up.

After a few more minutes, Sirius stepped out of the house, closing the door behind him. Trying to think where Remus could be when he heard the Werewolf's howl to the right of him. Sirius couldn't see anything and it did sound relatively far away, bearing that in mind, he decided to shift right away so that it would be easier. Changing into his animagus form had become like second nature to him, effortless, like slipping on a glove.

He let instincts kick in as he exited the inner ward boundary. They had worked on extending the ward boundary so that they could put up another one within it. The inner one was to keep Remus out during Full Moons and away from the house as an extra precaution.

The soothing sounds of the forest surrounded him, the trees rustling in the breeze, the smaller creatures out and about.

Sirius found Remus curled up next to a tree, his back resting against it. The Werewolf raised its' head in interest for a moment before plopping it back down on the Forest Floor. Sirius trotted over to Remus, and when he got closer he warily moved, a bit more aware of his movements as he got closer to his Sandy haired wolf.

That was how their evening went, lying next to each other on the forest ground. Sirius did miss James greatly at times like these, sometimes he even found him reminiscing about their days in the Shrieking Shack. _I miss you Prongs, I hope though, please treat Evans right. Remus and I are working on getting Harry back. We may not be making much process, but we are trying, Prongs. I swear._ That was Sirius's last coherent thought before sleep claimed him. _I swear._

* * *

 **Also, thank you to everyone who left a review on the last chapter, I love you! You are amazing.**

 **Love you,**

 **Indieblue xxx**


	8. Old Friends Come Back To Haunt Us

**I should have dedicated more time today to studying, but the muse refused to let this go...which is how you're getting a new chapter right now.**

 **Basically I have exams coming up, so I'm writing a lot less, a LOT less. Which makes me sad, but I have to do what I have to do. So this may be the last chapter you get for quite a while, which I'm sorry about, but it's what has to happen unfortunately. TO make up for it, this chapter is quite long, and a lot happens.**

 **I should mention that there is a four year time jump. It's not that I don't love writing about small Caelum, and the beginning of Remus and Sirius's relationship, but I felt like it was time to move the plot along a bit.**

 **Oh yea, there is a bit of sexy time in this chapter, but nothing too graphic. It was originally going to be more smutty, but then I changed my mind.**

 **Please leave a review and let me know what you think :)**

 **Credits to my lovely little Alpha reader Anna Bear, who helped with part of this chapter! xxx**

 **My tumblr: indiebluecrown. tumblr. com**

 **Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling, and only the story line and any OC's belong to me.**

 **I recommend listening to Build It Better by Aron Wright, and Golden Leaves by Passenger if you want. I listened to those whilst writing, and Build It Better really resonated with my muse.**

* * *

The past few years had been peaceful, that was the only word Regulus could use to describe them. Watching Caelum grow up, enjoying every moment that he could, watching Sirius and Remus fall deeper in love as time passed. Sometimes he would see the subtle glances between his brother and his lover, and a deep longing would fill his heart for his wife. Those days were never easy, no matter how much time passed. After Caelum, she was the first thing he thought of every morning, even now. After all this time.

Where they lived wasn't terribly far away from the beach, this particular stretch never seemed to have any other persons occupying it. Which is how they found themselves sitting on the sand, watching Sirius play at the water's edge with Caelum.

It was a cold day, but Regulus had brought several towels and was prepared to use numerous warming charms. The sky an even light grey, with a few splotches of thunderous grey clouds on the horizon, despite that, the dark water was gently sliding onto the brown sand, leaving trails of its' presence as it retreated back into the sea, only to come back again. It was mesmerising. Normally Regulus and Remus wouldn't indulge the other two males in the house on such a cold day, but they had all been cooped up in the house for a week whilst Caelum was on midterm break. The weather has been downright abysmal, which meant they hadn't had the chance to get outside until today.

"Watch what I can do Uncle Sirius!" Caelum laughed, his fingers doing an elaborate dance as he twisted and bent a few handfuls of water to his will. They danced about, twirling around the small boy, whose grey eyes were twinkling happily. Sirius let out a loud, rambunctious round of applause. Remus put his hands together as well, whistling as he did. Regulus just beamed proudly at his son beside the werewolf.

"Going to school is good for him, you know that right?" Remus said suddenly, Regulus pursed his lips, angling his head in the sandy haired man's direction.

"I do," Regulus sighed, "I can't help but worry. However I do understand that he needs to interact with kids his own age."

Remus nodded in agreement, that had been his main argument when trying to convince Regulus.

"Are you going to come out of hiding if given the opportunity?" Remus asked quietly after a few moments.

"Honestly? I don't have a clue...it's kind of nice being 'dead' if you know what I mean," Regulus grimaced slightly, but it quickly slid into an easy grin.

"I can see how it can have its' perks," Remus smiled wryly.

Caelum let out a surprised squeal when Sirius threw the young boy over his shoulder.

"He looks more and more like her every day," Regulus stated calmly, but Remus saw the pain stricken look in his eyes.

Remus didn't say anything after that, figuring that Regulus wouldn't want to talk about it. The younger man had never brought up what had actually happened to Emmeline, just like how he'd never explained how he escaped from the cave where he had retrieved Slytherin's locket.

As Remus sat there quietly watching his cariad and nephew play about on the beach, Regulus's mind had drifted, years back now, to an evening he would never forget.

...

 **Friday,** **November 21st, 1980**

 _Regulus ran a tired hand down his face, it had been a long, long day, and all he wanted was to go home to Emmeline._

 _Unlike him, who was according to everyone, dead-Emmeline had a job in Diagon Alley; which if he had any say in it, she wouldn't for much longer._

 _Regulus entered the house, wiping his feet on the mat before noticing that Emmeline was sitting on the counter, kicking her feet back and forth, with a jar of peanut butter next to her on the countertop. Regulus frowned as he watched her smother peanut butter on a pickle with a butter knife, before balancing the knife on the edge of the sink, and then taking a large bite out of the pickle. Smiling at the loud, satisfying crunch as tiny trickles of pickle juice ran down her chin._

 _Candles were floating about gently, almost playfully, she waved her free hand that was not currently holding the pickle she was munching down on, causing the candles to dance about._

 _"Emmeline...what in Salazar's name are you eating?"_

 _Emmeline paused, frowned at the pickle almost pensively, then popped the remainder into her mouth. Her eyes widened as she reached to grab another pickle out of the jar that was partially concealed to the right of her. After a moment they widened further, a string of muttered curses falling from her lips, "Shit."_

 _"What? What's wrong?" Regulus frowned, kicking off his boots, brushing the snow off of his hair and striding towards her._

 _"I think I'm pregnant," Emmeline announced thoughtfully, biting into her pickle as if she was telling him something inconsequential like the weather._

 _"Pardon?" Regulus's jaw dropped, almost tripping over the carpet in the living room as he made his way into the kitchen._

 _"Shit. Yes. I'm late," Emmeline frowned, putting her forearms on his shoulders when he stepped in between her legs, trying to ensure she didn't get pickle juice on him._

 _"How can we be sure?" Regulus asked immediately, hands moving to grasp her face. He was going through a plethora of emotions, and he wasn't quite sure which to settle on; euphoria, shock, and a mixture of fear and doubt. His parents weren't exactly the best, how could he possibly raise a child without emulating his parents cold parenting style. It was all he had ever known. Then he looked into the hazel eyes of the woman he loved and he knew, he could do anything as long as she was by his side._

 _"Well quite simply really, there's a potion I can whip up, it takes a day or two...or I could go into Muggle London and get a pregnancy test. Both may be a good idea though," Emmeline said, which is when he saw the look he knew all too well. It was the look she got when she began to ponder on something deeply; it wasn't always a good look._

 _"Does this mean we have to take you to a Healer or something? Well that...you have to go to a healer?" For the first time since he had been proclaimed dead, Regulus noticed how inconvenient it was._

 _"We can go to an Obstetrician," Emmeline reassured Regulus, placing a gentle kiss to his forehead._

 _"Pardon?"_

 _"A muggle doctor that deals with women during pregnancy, for all their prenatal care, to help as your pregnancy progress. They check up on everything and make sure it is all going smoothly." Emmeline smirked when Regulus blinked up at her, utterly confused, "you're adorable. "Plus a little Polyjuice potion can work wonders, my love. Well that or human Transfiguration, your pick," Emmeline grinned devilishly._

 _"I am not letting you transfigure my face," Regulus shook his head firmly._

 _"I'll have you know that I got Outstanding on all of my NEWTs thank you very much," Emmeline huffed, "the examiner for Transfiguration told me my work was flawless."_

 _"Yes, Emmeline. I am well aware of your grades, however that does not mean that I want you practicing on my face."_

 _"One time I practice a bit of non-verbal magic on you, and you won't let me hear the end of it," Emmeline snorted, wiping her juice covered hand across his cheek._

 _"Emmeline!" Regulus gasped._

 _The lavender haired witch, whose hair was now brushing her shoudlers, shrugged innocently._

 _"You're going to pay for that."_

 _Regulus grabbed the jar of peanut butter and before she could protest, he scooped out a handful and smeared it across her chest. It was then that he noticed she was wearing a nice, white, sheer blouse with a beige camisole underneath it, her black pencil skirt pushed back around her hips._

 _"Regulus Black!"_

 _"Emmeline Vance!" Regulus threw back at her, grinning crookedly as he ducked away from the pickle wielding woman; who had hopped off of the counter and was now running behind him as he headed for their bedroom. He didn't get very far before she non-verbally threw a stinging hex at him, catching him on the back of his leg. Letting out a sharp yelp, he stopped abruptly._

 _The petite witch crashed into the back of him, dropping her pickles in an attempt to steady herself._

 _"Devious little witch," Regulus growled, twisting around so that he was facing her, bending down to pick her up around her thighs and throw her over his shoulder, one hand securely holding her rump, the other on her back._

 _"Regulus! I'm a delicate, fragile pregnant lady."_

 _Delicate? Regulus snorted, he had seen her fight from afar during the War when he had been a part of it. Sending a severing hex right through a Death Eater. Which left the tiny witch in shock, but the adrenaline of battle didn't allow her to study what she'd just done. When they finally found time to be together again, she'd broken down in his arms over the people she'd had to injure or kill, but in the moment she had been the farthest thing from delicate._

 _Regulus placed his 'delicate' flower down once he entered the bathroom, kicking the door shut behind him._

 _"We're going to have a baby," Regulus whispered, eyes darting down to her stomach in awe. She wasn't showing yet, but it would only be a matter of time._

 _"We're going to have a baby," Emmeline smiled merrily, tiptoeing to kiss him, softly._

 _It was slow then, stripping the clothes off of each other. In that moment the fact that a war was still raging on, that they were not truly safe until Voldemort was defeated; was irrelevant. All that mattered now was them, all that he saw was her._

 _Whispers of love, soft moans, breathy gasps. Regulus's fingers made quick work of the buttons on her blouse, as she pushed his outer robes off of his shoulders. She unzipped her skirt, he pulled off his shirt. Emmeline nipped his bottom lip as he unfastened the button on his pants, her dainty hands teasing his hard erection through his pants. Regulus growled lowly, practically ripping her camisole off of her, unfastening her bra with one hand._

 _Soon he was left in his black silk boxers, her in a mint green lace panty. Regulus broke all contact with her to move and turn on the shower. The steam quickly billowing throughout the room, Emmeline was right behind him when he turned around, tucking his thumbs in the waistband of his boxers, he slowly slid them down. Emmeline licked her lips when she saw his erection standing proud and tall. She bent over as she pushed her panties down, languidly stepping out of them._

 _There was a long pause, lust filled eyes, rising and falling chests. Regulus stepped into the shower, extending his hand and helping Emmeline in with him._

 _"Regulus Black, I love you," Emmeline whispered gently, linking her arms behind his neck. He smiled lovingly at the woman flush against him in his arms, the water hitting the back of her, her hair getting darker as the water hit it. The only light was the moonlight shining through the window to their right, above the shower tiles._

 _"I love you too, Emmeline Vance."_

 _"Do you know what?" Emmeline smirked._

 _"What?"_

 _"You have to marry me now," Emmeline said smugly._

 _"Is that so?" Regulus raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Is that a proposal Miss Vance?"_

 _"Maybe," Emmeline giggled, pressing a firm kiss to his lips, pulling back before either of them could deepen it._

 _Regulus laughed lightly, tightening his grip on her back, and she lifted her legs to wrap around his hips. The rest as they say, is history._

 _As they lay in their bed that night, Regulus tried to memorise every inch of her face. The freckles across her nose, her honest, hazel eyes, the way the corners of her eyes crinkled when she smiled. That night he went to bed happy, thoughts of war far in the deep recesses of his mind-the last thing on his mind was the thought that it could all be ripped away from him at any point._

 _…._

Remus and Sirius went into Muggle London every now and then, the same way they had when they first snuck out with Caelum. Sometimes they took the young boy on play dates with his school mates in the same park they met Claire in before. Claire as it turns out had also purely by coincidence, enrolled her daughter in the same primary school. Regulus at first thought it was suspicious until he convinced Remus to put the lessons he had given him in Occlumency and Legilimency to use. Sirius had no need of it since he had been trained to do so as had Regulus from a young age. Claire turned out to be a regular muggle with a _very,_ strong attraction to Remus. Which is why Sirius out of possessiveness usually disappeared inside his bedroom with his lover for hours on end after interactions with the mocha skinned woman. Unable to do anything about it normally, since he couldn't really communicate properly that Remus was _his_ in his animagus form.

Days had easily slid into weeks, weeks into months, and before any of them knew it-Caelum was six and four years had passed with such a peaceful nature, that Regulus was still having a hard time believing that everything was still fine and dandy.

Regulus and Sirius had discussed it briefly, and they decided unanimously to wait before going back to Grimmauld Place. Regulus said that he could order Kreacher to come to them, but Sirius said that despite his hatred of their childhood home, they should go together when their Mother's death had died down.

The only thing they had figured out was that horcruxes could be destroyed by fiendfyre; Remus had found a short, scribbled bit of script in the margin of one of the numerous tomes Regulus had accumulated over the years. His bedroom overrun with parchment, books, and research. All three men had immediately started learning how to control and cast fiendfyre safely. Over the past few years they had slowly but surely mastered it.

Regulus had enrolled Caelum in a muggle primary school, which had taken a great deal of convincing on his part, but eventually Remus and Sirius had swayed his decision; Caelum needed to interact with other children his own age, and forging documents with glamours was child's play as far as Regulus and Remus were concerned. 

Strangely the one thing Regulus wasn't worried about when enrolling Caelum at a muggle primary school was his accidental magic. The six year old had proved quite proficient at controlling his magic, even when he was upset or about to throw a fit.

Every morning before he went to school Sirius altered Caelum's face slightly; he was the best at Transfiguration. Which left them with a green eyed boy with pale blonde hair, and a speckling of freckles across his face.

Sirius had however made progress on figuring out where James's invisibility cloak was, " _Dumbledore has to have it._ "

" _How do you know that, Sirius?" Regulus had asked with a dubious expression on his face._

 _"Prongs entrusted Dumbledore with a great deal, which means if Remus and I don't have it...and based on the assumption that that traitorous bastard Pettigrew doesn't have it, then Dumbles must have it."_

As far as finding Peter went, Remus kept a lookout for anything out of the ordinary when he went into Wizarding London. So far, nothing, until one fateful afternoon.

 **Friday, December 11th, 1987**

Remus was walking out of Ollivanders when he almost tripped over two redheaded boys that looked identical. At least once a month, he liked to go and see the Former Ravenclaw, he was quite enjoyable company and the Wandmaker had offered him a job mere moments ago. For months the older Wizard had been hinting that he wanted to pass on his knowledge on the delicate and intricate art of wandlore and wandmaking onto a successor. His wife had died, he had no children to speak of, and he wasn't getting younger.

The twin boys he narrowly avoided crushing were cackling as they waved their fingers about. They were tossing a rat around between them, the poor creature was squeaking incessantly. Remus frowned as the squeaking got louder as he approached the boys. _Why does that rat look so-_

" _Frederick! George!_ Give your brother back his rat!" Remus heard a scolding voice he remembered all too well coming from his left, ducking between the other witches and wizards that were bustling about came Molly Weasley. Three older redheaded boys were by her side, the eldest carrying a young redheaded girl, and the second eldest boy was holding the hand of a small boy.

The nine year old twins froze in place, innocent smiles on their faces as they turned towards their Mother; the wriggling rat still hovering in the air behind their backs. Which is when Remus saw it. The number of toes on the rat's feet. _Blasted rat cut off his pinky before he killed all those muggles,_ Remus heard Sirius's words echoing in his head over and over.

Without thinking too much about what he was doing, Remus quickly withdrew his wand, " _Petrificus Totalus!_ " The rat's squirming stopped instantly, petrified in place in the air. The twins jerked away in surprise, stance defensive but eyes filled with curiosity and awe at the man in front of them.

Molly let out a horrified gasp until she saw who it was that had cast the spell that hit her son's rat.

"Remus Lupin?"

"Molly, I hope you're well," Remus started with a neat smile, waving his wand and bringing the rat closer. Confirming that it was indeed missing a toe.

"Would you mind explaining why you petrified my son's rat, and why you look almost murderous?" Molly frowned, motherly concern and also great confusion splayed across her face.

"I'll explain later, but I need to take this rat," Remus said in an urgent tone, he knew that telling her that he was planning on taking her son's pet away from him out of the blue would probably not go over well, but he had to at least try.

"Remus Lupin, why in Merlin's name would I just let you-" Molly's hands were on her hips, lips twisted in disapproval now. Remus cut her off.

"I really wish I could explain Molly, but if I'm right..then this rat could change everything. I need you to trust me," Remus pleaded, sincerity laced through his voice.

Molly's children had gathered around them, and one of the younger boys, in a quite pompous tone said, "you have to tell us why you want _my_ rat," the boy crossed his arms over his chest.

"Percival, watch your tone," Molly warned. Remus grimaced. Normally he was able to handle situations with much more tact than he was currently, but his emotions were all over the place. If this truly was who he thought it then he wasn't thinking straight. He wanted to kill the rat, just on the off chance that it was _him._

 _I don't have time for this,_ Remus frowned. "I'm sorry, Molly," Remus apologised, brow furrowed together.

"For what?" Molly pursed her lips, but her answer moments later was Remus grabbing the rat gruffly in his hand, turning on his heel and apparating away. Leaving the Weasleys in a state of confusion.

Remus sent a Patronus message to Regulus and Sirius, telling them they had to go into the Ministry , his emotions were so potent right now he wasn't sure if any of his rambling made sense, but he managed to get out 'rat' 'found him' 'go to the Ministry, I have our proof'. He tacked on at the end that he would meet them there, hoping his disjointed message made some semblance of sense to the brothers.

After a moment's deliberation, taking a rather large risk he sent another Patronus to one of the only friends he had left. He knew he could trust her, and someone needed to pick Caelum up from school. The boy was highly intelligent, but also wary, so he hoped that sending her to pick him up wasn't a terrible idea. He wasn't quite sure what was what at the moment; just before he finished the message he told her to tell Caelum, _the black bird is nesting on the bent but strong branch._ It was a line from his favourite story to read with the boy, and once he had joked that it could be their secret phrase. It was a good thing that Caelum's school would be breaking for Christmas Holidays soon as well.

Remus was currently at Lupin Den, the house itself was bent and twisted from years of abandonment and weathering. Plants gnarled and grew throughout it, he had no idea so much damage could be inflicted upon it in so little time, but he reasoned that it made sense given that it hadn't been in the best condition in the first place. He had not returned to Lupin Den since he had gathered his things years ago when he was moving into Black Cottage. Dusty light was filtering into the house from a few holes in the ceiling.

His gaze was burning into the brown rat resting limply on the kitchen counter. He knew that the rat's chances at surviving were slim to none if it really was Peter. Which is why he needed to ensure that they had the proof this time around.

Remus pointed his wand at the rat, a blue light flashing from it, and moments later the rat slowly transformed into a face he knew all too well. Except he looked more rat-like than he remembered, eyes terrified as they darted about. Still frozen in place.

"Well well well, look who we have here. Hello there _old friend_ ," Remus snarled nastily, teeth bared, fists clenched. They had their proof.

….

The Black brothers walked side by side, heads held high, into the Ministry of Magic-you could hear a pin drop. A particularly dainty looking witch fainted into the arms of her companion, harsh whispers immediately filled the air, disbelief echoing loudly throughout the building. Aurors surrounded them a few minutes later, and Sirius cocked his head to the side. "You'd think they'd seen a ghost by the way they're looking at us, Reg."

A dark skinned Auror stepped forward, whose eyes immediately widened in recognition when they landed on the older of the grey eyed men. "Hello there, Kings. Miss me?" Sirius grinned broadly, ruffling his long locks, tucking them behind his ears afterwards.

Kingsley was by far the youngest Auror there, but Regulus noted that the others waited for him to move before doing anything; which obviously meant he had more authority than the rest of them. _Interesting,_ Regulus mused. Kingsley was taller than either of the black brothers, a very attractive, strong looking man, with a wry twist of his lips. Regulus saw the confusion in his eyes, and wasn't surprised. He would be taken aback if he wasn't confused or at least the slight bit perturbed by the current turn of events.

"Bring them," Kingsley commanded in a deep, calm voice. Sirius winked at the old, tired but curious looking Auror that gruffly grabbed his upper arm.

"I always did like it a little rough," Sirius laughed lightly.

"Oh, would you lay off?" Regulus rolled his eyes; he hoped that Remus knew what he was doing, he had mentioned figuring out how to get Caelum picked up from school, so hopefully that worked out as well.

"Both of you, be silent," Kingsley said over his shoulder. The two brothers were led through the Ministry, past gawking Ministry officials, workers and witches and wizards that were going about their business. Sirius snorted when a Daily Prophet photographer tried to take their picture, only for Kingsley to throw a hex at the camera and have it break apart. It was a warning, one that was well received since no one else tried to do it again.

It didn't take long before they were escorted into a small holding room; it was bare with the exception of a wide table, two metal chairs on one side, one on the other. Kingsley gestured for the Black brothers to sit down, waving away the other Aurors, taking the free seat across from them. Lacing his fingers together and resting his hands on the table, raising his eyebrows expectantly at both of the men, indicating that someone should start talking.

Regulus was not one to give away information freely, especially when the Aurors had 'all' the power currently.

"Fine, I'll go first. How are you still alive, whose body did we find in the Thames with your House Ring on its' finger, where have both of you been for the last few years, and why have you come out of hiding?" Kingsley rapidly fired several questions at them, eyebrows raised, leaning forward. "Especially since you're both known Death Eaters."

Sirius placed a hand to his chest, face twisted with affronted distaste, "Death Eater? Me? Sorry but that was only Reg."

"Nice," Regulus scowled, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back in his chair, carefully regarding the man across from him.

Sirius continued with pursed lips, shrugging, "I was framed. You might want to ask the Old Coot Dumbles bout that though. He knows all about what happened that night, but because it was convenient for his agenda or whatever he wanted then he let me take the bloody fall for Pettigrew." The animagus growled darkly as he said his former best mate's friend.

"Dumbledore-"

"What Kings? Would never let an innocent man take the fall for a crime he didn't commit? You'd be surprised," Sirius laughed breathily.

"All you need to know Kingsley Shacklebolt, is that Sirius was framed for the crime he had been accused of, I _was_ a Death Eater, but I defected...I took something valuable from the Dark- _Voldemort,_ what I cannot tell you. The only person I will tell is Harry Potter, and only when he is old enough to hear it." Regulus stated in a tone that indicated he was not going to give out any further information aside from what he had already given, and that it was non-negotiable.

Kingsley seeing that he was going to get nothing further from the conversation at this point, sighed, sat back, and after a few moments, examining both brothers, got up and walked towards the door.

The Auror department had learned a few tricks from the Muggle policemen, creating a one way mirror in all of the holding rooms. With a few charms and tricks, they could hear everything that was going on in the room as well. It had taken a bit of practice when they first implemented it, but they had gotten the hang of it fairly quickly.

Alastor Moody was on the other side, glancing at Kingsley for a brief moment before turning back to look at the Black brothers. Sirius had taking to whistling a nonsensical melody, whilst creating a beat with the bottom of his palms on the table. Regulus had not moved, arms still crossed, looking infinitely bored.

Moody's face was littered with scars, his magic eye darting about in what seemed to be a sporadic and random fashion. His brown trenchcoat oversized and open, underneath were simple black robes, black combat boots, leaning on his staff on his bad side, the side with his faux leg. Blonde, shoulder length hair thrown about in a haphazard fashion, looking like someone had electrified him.

"What do you think?" Kingsley asked when he saddled up next to Moody.

"I think that Regulus Black is most certainly not a man to trifle with, the entire time you were talking to him, he was staring straight at me. Bloody fucking shit though, if that blithering idiot Black is telling the truth, and he was framed, then there's the problem of finding Pettigrew."

"Pardon, Sir?" Kingsley's eyes widened, he was used to Moody's foul language, but he wasn't sure how Moody simply believed what Sirius had said without any proper proof.

Moody didn't say anything else, silently scrutinising the men on the other side of the glass.

A loud knock on the door rebounded throughout the small room, causing Kingsley and Moody to look to their left.

"Go find out what they want, Shacklebolt," Moody grunted.

Kingsley shot Moody a side glance, but complied nonetheless, deep purple robes flowing behind him as he walked across the small room, boots slapping against the stone floors as he moved.

Kingsley opened the door slightly and Alastor watched him exchange a few words with a baby faced man with mousey brown hair and a scar across his jaw line.

Kingsley came back straight faced, a pensive look in his eyes, "I was just informed that Remus Lupin is here...with a petrified _Peter Pettigrew._ "

"So they were telling the truth," Moody stroked his chin, looking somewhat amused, "well I'll be damned."

"What do we do with them?" Kingsley asked his superior, jerking his head in Sirius and Regulus's direction.

"Well, we get Pettigrew in a room, throw some extra strong Veritaserum down his throat, and if that doesn't work on him...then we use extreme measures," Moody responded gruffly. "Go let them know that Lupin and Pettigrew are here, but don't let them out. If Black's tone when even mentioning the rat's name was any indication, the two of them in a room together is not the best idea." Moody said grimly, turning and hobbling out of the room.

Kingsley nodded, doing as he was told. Moody had been right, Sirius flew up as soon as he mentioned Remus and Peter.

"That _filthy_ rat-"

"Careful, don't say anything they can use against you," Regulus cut off his brother, a warning in his tone. Sirius had developed a twitch in his jaw, narrowing his eyes for a moment before sitting down roughly in his seat with a huff.

In another room Moody was standing up watching Peter Pettigrew grovel in front of him, tears and a lot of other fluids leaking out of his face. He was on his knees, hands grasping at Moody's coat. It was truly a pathetic sight.

"The Dark Lord forced me-"

"I'm going to cut you off right there, Pettigrew. Whilst this is all very entertaining...the secret-keeper for a fidelus charm cannot be forced to reveal the location if they do not wish to, it can only be given voluntarily." Moody's words halted the tears. Peter's bottom lip wobbled, hands letting go of Moody's coat. He sat back on his haunches, hands hanging limply at his sides, features that had morphed to make him more rat-like than human were crestfallen in defeat, nose twitching every few moments. Large watery eyes were staring at the ground.

Remus was on the other side of the glass, his fingers had dug into his hands with such pressure that trickles of blood were running down his knuckles, dripping onto the ground. _Drip, drop, drip._ Fury was painting his vision red, hazel irises flashing gold and amber. There was no mistake, Peter knew exactly what he was doing when he betrayed Lily and James. Then he turned around and framed Sirius when given the opportunity. It was taking everything in him to refrain from bursting into the other room and ripping a man he used to know into shreds, tearing him limb from limb. It hurt, the pain was fresh and stung harshly. Flashes of an innocent, mousey haired boy, a kind boy filled his mind. A laughing boy, that helped them with their pranks, was brilliant at Astronomy, and read up on Werewolves after he found out what Remus was in their second year. Who brought him hot chocolate the day after the Full Moon, experimenting until he found the perfect recipe for Remus.

Remus watched as Moody waved his wand, " _Incarcerous!"_ Ropes flying out of his wand and wrapping tightly around Peter. "I doubt your trial will be very long, they'll most likely send you straight to Azkaban." Moody snarled down at the man, who flinched visibly, cowering and shaking.

Remus found that he had no compassion left in him for the man he saw kneeling before Moody, no sympathy, or pity. Just a bad taste in the back of his mouth. Closing his eyes tightly, he breathed in deeply through his nostrils. _His_ smell filled his nostrils. He wanted to forget it, but it seemed impossible. Despite the unclean scent that clung to him like a second skin, Remus could still make out his unique smell; a warm woodsy smell that made him think of home, or at least what had been home. Remus pondered about the fate of Potter Manor, deciding to bring it up to Sirius later. _Sirius._

Remus remembered that his love and his friend were both in a holding room somewhere, awaiting their release. He took one final look at the man he used to know, and with a clenched jaw turned his back on him. He had the people he truly cared about to find. Which was more difficult than you would imagine. The cacophony of noise and bustle of the Ministry was overwhelming sometimes, making him feel like a caged animal, it didn't help that all of the smells mixed together like some bad perfume, filling his nostrils with their pungent odour.

When Remus found Sirius, he was whistling as he walked out of the small room he had spent the past hour and a half. Smiling wickedly when he saw Remus, not caring who was watching Sirius yanked Remus into him by his shirt lapels that were sticking out over his black jumper.

"Have I told you I love you today, Moony?" Sirius breathed out huskily.

"No," Remus murmured, a tingle running down his back as Sirius's rough hands grasped his face, hungrily kissing him, nipping at his bottom lip.

"I love you," Sirius smirked, stroking Remus's cheek when he pulled away. Remus wrapped his hands around Sirius's lower back, one of them moving to squeeze Sirius's left butt cheek.

"Okay, we get it, you're in love, you want to go home and shag. Please keep it decent in public," Regulus rolled his eyes, hand irritably moving through his hair, it was covering his ears which meant it was time to be cut off again.

"You're free?" Remus asked.

"We have to come back tomorrow for Pettigrew's trial is what Shacklebolt just told us," Regulus pursed his lips, tapping his foot impatiently. Not enjoying the various obvious stares they were getting. "Where is my son?"

"Well…" Remus trailed off, and then fury unrivalled bubbled up in Regulus in moments.

"Lupin! Where is my son?" Regulus growled lowly, remembering to keep his voice low so no one beside Sirius and Remus could hear him. _Fuck he's pissed, he never calls me Lupin anymore,_ Remus gulped.

"Don't worry, he's okay."

"Define okay," Regulus snarled.

….

Caelum was experiencing something very odd, and quite unlike anything else he had ever experienced before. Which he was loving every second of, learning new things endlessly fascinated him. These people most certainly fit into the fascinating category.

Their daughter was smiling curiously at him, at first he thought it was strange, but after a little while it was oddly comforting. Her mother was humming to herself whilst painting not too far away, long, pale hair thrown up on top of her head, a simple white sundress, and navy blue cardigan on.

The girl had informed him that her Daddy was off exploring, sometimes he took her with him, but a few days ago he had set out for Marshlands for a small trip, and he was due back anytime now-which is why he left her to keep her Mum company.

"What's your name?" The girl had asked him, and he knew he wasn't supposed to use his real name when he was at school, but the woman had used his and Uncle Remus's secret phrase. So he had stood in their kitchen, frowning down at his feet trying to decide. The nice lady merely smiled and told her daughter, "his name is Caelum, my sweet."

"That's a nice name, it's a constellation," the girl had smiled broadly. Luna he learned later was her name. He liked Luna a lot, she was friendly.

Caelum asked a lot of questions, having never been in another wizarding household before, and Pandora laughed lightly at how eager he was, and responded to all of his questions. She didn't treat him as if he was too young to understand some things, (his teacher at school did that sometimes, telling him he wasn't old enough to use certain words and understand what he meant. He wanted to use one of the swear words Uncle Sirius said when he didn't think Caelum was listening, but his Father would be disappointed in him. So he took the high road and nodded whenever she went off on those meaningless tangents).

It had gotten quite dark, and Pandora invited him to eat with them. Complimenting him on his impeccable table manners as they ate; they were having mashed potatoes, baked chicken and an assortment of seasonal vegetables.

Not long after dinner, even though he was enjoying the two females company he began to get very tired. Pandora noticed that, and led him upstairs, putting him to sleep in Luna's room. Strangely he wasn't scared, and Pandora offered to have Luna sleep in her room with her, but he told the witch it was okay if Luna slept in the same bed as him. There was enough room after all.

Caelum wasn't sure what it was, but he felt warm, and at home as he fell asleep. He was barely able to make out Luna's shape in the dark, but he felt her body heat radiating off of her, her soft snores filling his ears. That night Caelum Black fell asleep with a content smile on his face, he liked these people. He dreamt of his Father, strong and determined, of his Uncle Sirius, loving and loud, and his Uncle Remus, intelligent and witty. They would like these people too, he was sure of it.

* * *

 **I hope you liked that :D**

 **Thank you to everyone who reviewed on the last chapter, I love you all! I've been so busy, so if I haven't responded just know that I read all of them and all of your lovely words makes my day infinitely better :D**

 **Aren't Reg and Emmie just downright adorable?**

 **If there's anyone you want to see more, like more Pandora and the Lovegoods then I'm sure something can be arranged ;) I love hearing what you guys think, so please let me know!**

 **Love,**

 **Indieblue xxx**


	9. News Travels Fast

**Hello, hello!**

 **I know I haven't responded to your lovely reviews yet, but I will I promise! Thank you so, so much for them, they make my day.**

 **I've managed to write bits and pieces of this in between my lunch breaks over the last few days, I really hope you enjoy this chapter! I should be able to post more frequently after my 'final' exam tomorrow, which is stressing my out, which is why I needed to edit this chapter to help calm down.**

 **This chapter is a lot shorter than the last, but I really wanted to end it where I did to get you guy's reaction :D**

 **Sidenote, how are there almost 100 people following this story?**

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 **Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling, only the story line and any OC's belong to me.**

* * *

 **Saturday, December 12th, 1987**

 **The Burrow**

"Good morning, dear," Arthur Weasley smiled happily at his wife, who was busy organising Breakfast for everyone-waving her wand and then a few eggs floated into the air above a pan, cracking themselves, the golden yolks surrounded by the egg whites.

"Good morning, love," Molly said, smiling as Arthur dropped a quick kiss to her cheek.

"None of the children aren't down yet?" Arthur frowned, it was almost eight o'clock and he was going to be late if he didn't head out for work.

"It's Christmas break, Charlie and Bill are off of school and thus sleeping in until at least noon every day, and the rest of them never really get up before nine unless I go and wake them, which you very well know," Molly pursed her lips.

Arthur nodded noncommittally, in one hand was a cup of black coffee, the other was holding the folded Daily Prophet that had been lying abandoned on the kitchen table.

"Men," Molly grumbled under her breath, she loved her husband, but sometimes he simply got on her nerves. She was about to say something else, her own cup coffee grasped in her hands, when she noticed the stunned expression on his face.

"Arthur?"

"This happened in the Ministry yesterday? How did I not hear about it?" Arthur's eyes widened, almost spilling his coffee as he put his mug down hurriedly, unfolding the paper-his eyes gobbling up the words as quickly as he could.

"What is that?" Molly frowned, taking a few steps until she was next to her husband-waving her wand and putting some toast on.

Arthur tilted the paper down towards her, still reading.

 ** _BLACK BROTHERS RETURN._**

 _Yesterday, Sirius Black and his younger brother Regulus Black suddenly appeared inside the Ministry. Both looking extremely calm as Aurors showed up and whisked them away._

 _An inside source tells us that whilst the investigation is still pending-Remus Lupin, known Werewolf and recipient of the Order of Merlin: First Class for his service in the War of recent years past, brought a petrified Peter Pettigrew into the Ministry at the same time._

 _Whether the Black brothers and Remus Lupin were in contact remains to be known at this time, but can it only be a coincidence that these two events occurred in the same time frame?_

 _Sirius Black was a wanted man because he allegedly murdered twelve muggles and Peter Pettigrew. However as Mister Pettigrew is still alive, and it has been revealed that he was an Unregistered animagus, we are more inclined to believe that Sirius Black was wrongfully accused._

 _Regulus Black, known Death Eater, defected during the War, but we do not know much else. It was assumed that he died and that his body, whilst unrecognisable, was the one found in the Thames years ago-his house ring on the corpse's finger. The real question is who was it they really found in the Thames?_

 _Both brothers are still in Auror custody and Remus Lupin's whereabouts are currently unknown. He left a statement with the Auror yesterday afternoon and was released a few hours after._

 _We wished to interview some of the persons that were said to have seen the elder Black on the night the Potters were murdered and Harry Potter defeated the Dark Lord-namely Rubeus Hagrid and Albus Dumbledore, but we have been unable to do so. Both have refrained from commenting on the events of the past twenty four hours._

 _The fate of Peter Pettigrew, whose animagus form was that of a rat_ -there was a loud clattering noise as Molly dropped her mug, it smashed upon impact with the floor, but she didn't even notice- _is unknown at this point, whatever the outcome, hopefully justice will prevail. Since no one truly knows what happened on that night several years ago, one can only hope that if he is guilty of any crime that he will be punished accordingly._

Molly stopped reading them, dropping into one of the chairs at the kitchen table, one hand to her breast, the other covering her mouth.

"Molly?"

"Fuck."

…

 **Meanwhile**

 **Lovegood Residence**

"Your Mum is really nice," Caelum said, sitting next to Luna on the slightly damp grass.

The two six year olds were in the Lovegood's backyard, it was wide and it had rained during the night so the grass was slightly wet. Neither child cared much though. They had both woken up with the sun, and Pandora smiled warmly when they knocked on her bedroom door. Xenophilius was still asleep, hand thrown across his face as he snored. Pandora was led by two calm yet very excited children down to the kitchen.

"She is, isn't she?" Luna smiled gently. Normally at school all the kids asked what his Mum was like, yet Luna didn't, as though she knew already that he didn't have one.

Instead she asked, "What's your Dad like? Is he nice?"

"He is," Caelum said excitedly, "though he worries too much sometimes is what Uncle Sirius says."

"Do you want to go and explore?" Luna asked suddenly, eyes locked on the trees from the forest that were peeking over the fence.

"Are we allowed to?" Caelum asked with wide eyes. Exploring was something he was never allowed to do on his own, his Dad forbade it, and both of his Uncles got really nervous if he strayed too far, so he was always within eyesight wherever they went.

Luna merely cocked her head to the side, she hopped up and then offered him her hand. Caelum frowned for a moment before accepting her hand. Luna's big silvery blue eyes blinked at him innocently before she giggled, grabbing his hand and pulling him towards the side gate at the bottom of the yard.

When they reached it, Caelum noted that the deadbolt was a bit high, and then he heard Luna make a odd noise, he turned to his right to see that she was focused intently on the bolt. A metallic sound made him look up and he saw that the bolt was now unlocked.

When Pandora went outside five minutes later, she found that the backyard was empty and the gate was slightly ajar. She had a strange feeling that somehow they would be alright, with a light smile she sat down on one of the chairs on the porch, a glass filled with faint purple liquid in her hand. Daintily she took a sip, "mmm, lovely."

...

Ever since he was little Caelum was an extremely curious lad. "Why?" Was a question frequently asked by the young boy. He loved to learn new things, explore new places and experience different things. Which is why even though he knew that leaving the house unattended was probably a really bad idea-at least it was when he thought about what his guardians would say; he did it anyway.

Luna was really nice, a bit odd and she gave him strange looks sometimes, but he liked her all the same.

It was peaceful in the forest, it was like a completely different world. The Earth was slightly damp still because of the rain, leaves glistened with water droplets, and their rubber boots made squishing sounds as they walked side by side.

Luna had grabbed onto Caelum's hand at some point and he smiled to himself when she did. Luna's hand was warm and soft, and nothing the other girl's hands at school. They were always trying to hold his hand, and get him to play with them. He liked that they wanted to play with him, but sometimes he wished they wouldn't be so grabby.

Luna stopped suddenly, a large grin on her face, she pointed at a stream that cut through the forest, right between a set of trees, it dipped down and went down a small waterfall from what could be seen in the distance. The water was babbling happily, flowing freely and splashing against the rocks in its path.

"C'mon, the stream is pretty shallow over here, we can stand in it!" Luna exclaimed, "it's a shame we're not near a lake in Scotland...they have a lot of flying seahorses Mummy tells me."

"Flying seahorses? Wicked," Caelum said with wide eyes. Hurrying to the stream with Luna.

The stream came up to halfway up their shins, but their wellies thankfully cut just below their knees so they didn't get too wet.

The two children splashed each other playfully every now and then, but for the most part were fascinated by all the things they were finding in the stream.

"Caelum! Look what I found!" Luna grinned proudly, holding up a dark stone, its surface was smooth and it caught the light when held up high enough. It was about as big as Luna's palm, and Caelum excitably rushed to her side, splashing up water as he did.

"That's brilliant!" Caelum said, smiling at the girl. Luna cocked her head to the side for a moment and Caelum was about to ask what was wrong, when she held out her hand to him, the stone laying flat in her palm.

"I want you to have it. So you'll never forget me," Luna said seriously, her silvery blue eyes twinkling.

"I don't think I'm going to forget you Luna," Caelum shook his head in protest, "you found it. You should keep it."

"I'm giving it to you," Luna said. Caelum sighed since he had a feeling that this was like when his Uncle's squabbled. Neither of them giving in until his Dad normally hit the back of both of their heads and told them to stop their 'childish behaviour since you are not adolescents anymore...at least I don't think you are.'

"Thank you," Caelum said as he took the stone from Luna, after all he was raised to thank people for gifts. It was only polite.

"I think it's time we go back, I'm a bit hungry, aren't you?" Luna asked.

Caelum hadn't even noticed how empty his stomach felt, and he simply nodded, he was very hungry indeed.

Less than twenty minutes later, Pandora got Xenophilius to go and run a bath in the guest bedroom for Caelum whilst she went to bathe Luna. Since both children had ended up sliding about in the mud on their way back, it clung to their clothes, caked onto their skin and clumped their hair together. They were both grinning like madmen, a shiny stone held tightly in the little boy's hand.

Xenophilius asked Caelum if he wanted him to leave him to bathe himself or if he wanted his company, and Caelum replied with, "I only really need help filling the tub. I am a big boy after all."

Caelum rinsed off the mud whilst Xenophilius went to go grab him a towel, and then sat wrapped in one as Xenophilius plugged the drain and turned the water on. The tub slowly began to fill, and the older male put a few drops of a concoction that Pandora had made that was both relaxing and created bubbles into the water.

Caelum happily jumped into the tub, and told Xenophilius that he could sit on the ground by the tub and tell him stories if he wanted. The young boy toyed with the water, tossing a handful in between his hands as Xenophilius told stories of amazing things. Caelum's hair was sticking up in several directions, shampoo lathered into his hair, some of the bubbles on his nose.

Caelum knew that Pandora, Luna and Xenophilius were not like any other family he had ever met-he hadn't met any other Wizarding families besides his own, but he felt like they were certainly special. He liked them a lot. He wondered if after his Dad and his Uncles came to pick him up, if he'd ever be able to come over and play.

 _If I make sure to do well on all my Spelling tests and my Math exercises when school starts back, then maybe they'll let me come back,_ Caelum reasoned to himself in his head. _I really hope they do._

…

 **Ministry of Magic**

 **Auror Department**

 **Interrogation Room 1**

"Fuck Salazar right up his slimy ass!" Sirius groaned loudly.

"Charming. You do know they're watching us right now?" Regulus raised an eyebrow.

Sirius was currently pacing back and forth, stopping to moan and groan about their current situation what seemed to be every few seconds. Regulus was surprised Sirius hadn't started banging his head against the wall-not like he was going to stop him.

Regulus was seated comfortably-for the past few hours-in the same chair he sat in as they got questioned the previous day.

Their only visitor had been Remus, who informed them of the current situation and what was going on outside of their small room. Pettigrew was currently in a holding cell somewhere else in the Auror department, awaiting trial. Which was meant to be today, but from what Remus had said, when he came in, he hadn't heard anything new about the proceedings, much less if there was even to be a trial today.

As witnesses to take the stand, the Aurors wanted them to be in a secure room until the trial, but both Black brothers were beginning to get a little impatient. Regulus was constantly on edge since he hadn't gone to see Caelum last night, since he knew that going to the Ministry today meant that Caelum would most likely have to stay at the Lovegood's again. Remus was meant to go there later in their stead, the Ministry didn't need him to testify just yet, since they had taken thorough statements when he delivered Pettigrew yesterday.

 _"I told them that Peter was an Unregistered animagus, mainly so he wouldn't shift and figure a way out of here. They know Sirius is one as well-I told them since I figured Peter would snitch...which he did."_

 _"So they're going to lock me up anyway?" Sirius narrowed his eyes, he knew that there were consequences to being an Unregistered animagus._

 _"Strangely enough...no. Moody merely gave me a strange look and he made a noise, and I swore it looked like he smiled for a second."_

 _"Bullshite," Sirius laughed._

They had sent some food and drink in with Remus, but that had been this morning, and it had to be after midday at least now. They had been waiting for hours, and Sirius was not well known for his patience.

The sound of the lock clicking open in the door made both of them jump to attention, Sirius looking eager for whatever was about to happen, Regulus looked more wary, frowning at the door.

"You cannot be fucking serious," Regulus snarled upon seeing who was in the doorway, pointing a finger at Sirius at the same time-who was also angry but was just about to make a joke.

"I can understand why you may be angry, my boy," the older wizard said as he stepped inside the room. The door softly clicking shut behind him. Regulus heard the key turn in the lock and and couldn't think of anyone else who he would want in this room less.

His hands behind his back, half moon spectacles perched halfway down the bridge of his nose. He was wearing the light blue robes that frankly always looked similar to sleepwear to him, and that rubbish little silvery blue cap with the small silver bell that hung down the side of his face on his head.

"I'm not _your_ fucking boy, Dumbledore," Regulus said venomously, his sharp tone cutting through the thick tension that had settled in the room.

"You know who is _my_ boy though? Harry. Harry James Potter," Sirius started, moving to stand beside his brother, hand resting on the chair back. "When we get out of here, I want him back," Sirius growled, grey eyes turning to hard steel, teeth bared at his former Headmaster.

"I thought you might say that," Dumbledore said, Regulus narrowed his eyes as the older man's face filled with what looked like sympathy. Regulus saw through it though, whatever Dumbledore's intentions, no matter how good he thought they were, he knew exactly what he was doing. There was no sympathy. No remorse for what he had come here to do.

There was no fucking way Regulus was going to let him get away with murder, by using some fancy words and pretty reasoning. He saw the pain his brother went through whenever he went to go and watch the Dursleys. There was no way he was letting his family be trifled with. As an extension, Harry was a part of that family, and they weren't going to let Dumbledore take that away. Not again.

Regulus stood up, expressionless, eyes watching every shift of movement that Dumbledore made, every muscle twitch, slight frown, even the twinkle in his eye that was quickly fading away.

"Dumbledore. I am going to say this once-"

"Before you say anything, Regulus. It is imperative that Harry Potter is raised away from all the fame that his name would bring him. Until he turns eleven and is meant to attend Hogwarts-"

"You didn't find us for seven years. Mind you, we came to you. Otherwise you wouldn't have found us at all."

"I knew you've been in contact with Mister Lupin for years, if I really wanted to find you. I could have," Dumbledore said in a grave tone, the twinkle gone from his eyes-now they were a dangerously sharp ice blue.

"Old man, I don't think you're hearing me right. Your bullshite reasoning for keeping Harry from the Wizarding World isn't going to stand up if we take this to the Wizengamot. Sirius is Harry's Godfather. The one James and Lily wanted to take care of their child in case anything happened to them. Either you let us take him from those disgusting muggles, or we will fight you every step of the way to get him back," Regulus spat. He took another step towards Dumbledore, reigning in his anger with careful movements, he was letting it fuel him, but not consume him.

"Before you tell me that I am biased towards muggles, I'm not. I do however know that those people Harry is with now, are the worst sort of people. He's currently growing up in a poisonous environment, being neglected…" Regulus paused, a slow grin growing on his face. He desperately hoped the Aurors were listening and watching now. "But that's what you want? Isn't it, _Albus_?"

Regulus wasn't sure if it was calling him by his first name, or what he said, but he saw Dumbledore's cold fury retreat behind the demeanour he showed the world; the cheery old man, trustworthy, an authority figure.

"It is in his best interest if he stays away from our world as long as possible," Dumbledore said quietly, smiling gently before turning to leave.

When Dumbledore reached the door, Regulus said softly-though he knew the other man heard him from the way his shoulders stiffened- "His? Or yours?"

Dumbledore exited swiftly, the door closing a tad harsher than it had previously.

Sirius was staring at his brother in awe, "I love you."

"I know," Regulus said, the corners of his lips turning upwards, moving to sit back in his abandoned chair. Resuming a similar position to the one he had been in before.

"What now?" Sirius sighed, pulling up the other chair-the legs scraping loudly against the floor-and sitting on it backwards next to his brother.

"Well we wait for now, but when we get out of here...we're going to get back our boy. For real this time," Regulus swore, grim determination laced through his voice.

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 **The Dumblerage is strong this week lol.**

 **Love,**

 **Indieblue xxx**


	10. Trials, Lockets and Reunions

**HEY everyone!**

 **I got really excited when writing, and had a burst of inspiration yesterday, so I've been working really had on this chapter. I really hope everyone likes it. I am extremely nervous about this chapter, much like I was for the latest FTT chapter that I posted yesterday.**

 **I am letting you know that whilst I am going to be posting more, I think I'm going to try and work more on IWHGH if I can since it is 'nearing' the end of that fic. Which makes me insanely sad, but kind of excited at the same time, it's a weird feeling. If you want to go and read that story and maybe leave me a review, that would be really nice, but either way I hope you like this story.**

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 **Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling, and only the story line and any OC's belong to me.**

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The air was heavy, thick with tension, the large room was silent. Almost too silent; unnaturally so. No one dared to clear their throat, or shift in their seats if they were uncomfortable.

All eyes were locked on the trembling man standing in the centre of the room-who was staring down at his feet, wringing his hand together, handcuffs around his wrists, one around his ankle chaining him to the floor.

Finally the Head of the Wizengamot, Cornelius Fudge, struck his gavel on the sound block on his podium-the sharp, sudden sound tore through the air; causing more than one person to jump.

"Peter Pettigrew, you have allegedly carried out several offenses, and the charges brought up against you are as follows," Cornelius paused, Regulus rolled his eyes and Sirius cut eyes at the man-still irritated that he had declared him a mass murderer and an order that the Auror did not need to bring him in alive if he was found.

"First degree murder of twelve muggles, one count of being an Unregistered animagus, being a Death Eater, and a spy for You-Know-Who. Finally, betraying the location of Lily Potter and James Potter to You-Know-Who, when you were the secret keeper to their home that was placed under the Fidelus Charm. How do you plead to these charges?"

Peter's gaze finally moved somewhere besides his feet, travelling until they landed on the man towering above him. Not before his eyes briefly met Sirius's. Everyone in the circular room-in their seats above the ground floor-waited with bated breath. "Not guilty."

A round of harsh, hushed whispers immediately kicked up, Sirius growled and he felt Remus's hand tighten in his. It took everything in him not to stand up and yell, " _liar!_ "

Fudge banged his gavel several times, his wand to his throat, when his voice boomed loudly throughout the room. _He must have cast a Sonorus._ "Order! I will have order!"

Fudge turned a suspicious eye on Peter, a grim almost dark expression on his face, "you are under oath, Mister Pettigrew may I remind you, and we shall soon see when you undergo the Legilimency trial and Veritaserum." Peter's Adam's apple jerked suddenly, his eyes growing wide.

Sirius grinned toothily, he may have been able to maybe lie under the Veritaserum, maybe. Legilimency as well? Well that was just out of the question. Plus his, and that of the other witnesses's testimony would surely finish off the proceedings quite quickly.

"First however, we shall have our first witness, Sirius Orion Black. Who will provide pensive memories and undergo Veritaserum to ensure his complete and total honesty throughout his testimony," Fudge said tightly.

Sirius rolled his eyes when everyone turned to look at him, some twisting in their seats. They were sat in the second row-they weren't allowed to sit in their House Seat, since the Heir of the Ancient and Noble House of Black had yet to be determined. Walburga and Orion had appointed Regulus the Heir when she burned Sirius off the Family tree. When Regulus was declared dead, it had all been up in the air, since Walburga still lived and Sirius was still disowned.

He squeezed past the five or six people that were between where he sat and the end of the row, turning right and going down the stairs, opening the short door that stood between him and the other stairs that led onto the circular floor. The Aurors had unchained Peter, and shoved him into a chair on the side, re-chaining his ankle to the wall. Some ministry employees were setting up an adjustable chair-which Sirius would be able to lie back on-and a pensieve in the middle of the room.

Sirius sat down in the chair, lying back when they adjusted it to do so. Accepting the vial of Veritaserum, he scrunched up his nose when he saw the clear, odourless liquid in the vial; having had many run-ins with it in the past, but he downed it regardless.

He was handed another set of vials, and he knew that they were for the memories to go in the pensieve. Gritting his teeth, he focused on the task at hand, and extracted the necessary ones. Where he asked Peter to be secret keeper. When he asked Dumbledore to take care of Harry, making sure that everyone knew that he had told Dumbledore about Pettigrew being the Secret keeper, (he may not be a Slytherin, but that didn't mean he wasn't cunning. It would serve them well in the future), finally when he had confronted Peter. Who confessed everything.

The palpable silence had returned, everyone intent on witnessing the events unfurling before them on the rippling screen. It was an inventive bit of magic that had been created a few years back, similar to a pensieve, and it played the memories fed into it as if one was watching a muggle motion picture.

After they were done, Sirius was asked several questions.

"What is your name?"

"Sirius Orion Black," Sirius snorted, he really wanted to say 'obviously', but refrained.

"How old are you?'

"Why I never-Twenty Eight."

"Did you betray the Potters and reveal their location to You-Know-Who?"

"No. I thought that Voldemort would send his people thinking it was me, and once the Secret Keeper dies the charm is lifted, so I didn't think it would be wise if it was me...and Remus and I hadn't been as close, we didn't trust each other as much anymore. Then Peter...Pettigrew was there, and he was one of my best mates, I thought I could trust him, so James and Lily made him Secret Keeper," Sirius choked on the last part. "It's my fault they died, I should have stayed Secret Keeper...I should've. I should've," silent tears were streaming down Sirius's face. He still partially blamed himself, even after all this time, it was his fault. If only he hadn't switched then they would still be alive, it was a thought that ran through his mind constantly.

"That will be all," Fudge said cordially, it wasn't as cold as before, Sirius noted as he got out of the chair. "Next we will have Mister Rubeus Hagrid."

Sirius grabbed ahold of the larger man's forearm when he passed by him-he had been seated next to Dumbledore a ways away, so he hadn't had the opportunity to speak to the Half-Giant until that moment.

"It's good to see you, Hagrid," Sirius smiled brightly, Hagrid returned the smile.

"It's good ter see you too, Sirius. Blimey, I didn't think I would again, I'm glad I did." With that Sirius let him go, making his way to return to his seat. Feeling more than one set of eyes on him. Remus wrapped his arms around Sirius's shoulders when he sat back down.

Hagrid stood as opposed to lying down on the chair. He wouldn't need to use Veritaserum as it wouldn't have worked as well on him regardless, which is why he simply provided pensieve memories, which lined up with Sirius's story. Arriving at Potter Cottage with Albus Dumbledore, Sirius giving Harry to Dumbledore, asking him to take care of him until he came back for him.

"It seems Hagrid's story corroborates with that of Mister Black's so far," Fudge said in an almost bored tone. Sirius supposed the formalities of getting further testimony was a burden on the Minister in Cornelius's mind.

"Finally we shall have Professor Albus Dumbledore come and provide testimony," Fudge said.

Whereas during Hagrid's testimony, some of the Wizengamot and those present had begun to murmur amongst themselves, but as Albus Dumbledore descended onto the floor it all ceased; he commanded a great deal of respect, and Sirius knew as well as anyone that going against him was not going to be simple, or easy, not in the slightest.

Dumbledore removed the silvery memory strands from his mind with his wand almost effortlessly, as if he had done it many a time before. Sirius kept an impassive expression on his face whilst he watched Dumbledore's memories. Mirroring what happened in Sirius's and Hagrid's. They abruptly cut off when Dumbledore turned to Hagrid, holding him out the the Giant. Sirius guessed that was when Hagrid took Harry to Privet Drive. Sirius noticed something peculiar-even though the audio was gone for whatever Dumbledore said as he handed Harry to Hagrid, Dumbledore turned back towards the house, before the memory stopped completely.

So Hagrid had taken Harry to the Dursleys, and presumably Dumbledore had met him there, but why then had the older wizard looked back towards the house. Had he gone inside? Those were all questions that sprung up inside his head. The answers to which he was sure Dumbledore would not impart upon him.

Dumbledore stood, giving the assistant a pleasant smile, the twinkle ever present in his eye, his silvery blue robes floating out behind him as he headed across the floor, and then back to his seat.

"Thank you, Albus," Cornelius gave Dumbledore a warm smile, and bowed his head slightly.

"Didn't thank me, and mine were the most important," Sirius grumbled lowly, Remus pinched his shoulder and Sirius quieted moments later, sinking in his seat a little as he sulked.

"Since we have Mister Pettigrew's confession in Mister Black's memories, we will instead ask for the memories of him giving You-Know-Who the information of the Potter's whereabouts," Fudge paused as Peter was brought back over, the chains clinking about as he moved. "You can either relinquish them willingly, or a Legilimens will probe your mind, and search for the information we desire," Fudge said, directly addressing Peter.

"I-I-I'll give you the memories," Peter stuttered out.

Moments later he was watched carefully as the memories were extracted from his mind, the silvery wisps being poured into vials.

Sirius sat up as it began to play, and found as much as he wished he could, he couldn't bring himself to tear his eyes away. They needed this, Remus and him. They needed to see it for themselves. Try and piece together the pieces, figure out where it all went wrong.

 _"_ _Wormtail, did you succeed in finding the Potters?" Voldemort asked in a calm tone, his back was to Peter. Voldemort was clothed in black robes, his feet bare, the moon barely a sliver in the sky above them. The room was cast in shadow and darkness, nothing particularly special about it. An empty bookshelf, a bed that looked unused, and an armchair with a small, stout table beside it. Resting atop the surface, shoved a bit shoddily into a candleholder was a single candle-the only source of light in the room._

 _"_ _I did, My Lord,"_ The image shifted as Peter kneeled down, head bowed and Voldemort was no longer in sight.

 _"_ _Good, good, rise Wormtail," Voldemort said._ The image shifted once more. _Voldemort had turned around, his blood red eyes shining and slicing through the surrounding darkness, his pale skin almost seemed to glow._

 _"_ _Yes, My Lord?"_

 _"_ _So they entrusted you to be the Secret Keeper?" Voldemort asked, stepping forward, his face almost looked gleeful, his tone almost sounded giddy._

 _"_ _Yes, My Lord," Peter responded, his hands shaking slightly._

 _"_ _Well then Wormtail, where exactly are they?"_

 _There was a moment of hesitation, so small one wouldn't notice if one hadn't been paying attention. "They are-"_

Sirius tore his gaze away, he had heard enough. His eyes instead found the side of Remus's face, and saw clearly the thinly reigned in fury that he was barely controlling. He reached out and rested his hand on Remus's thigh, squeezing gently. It was the ultimate betrayal since they had been inseparable since they were eleven. They were best mates, all _four_ of them.

"I think that is all the proof we need," Fudge said tightly. "All in favour of sentencing Peter Renard Pettigrew to a life sentence in Azkaban, please raise your hand and officially vote."

In silence, one by one, everyone raised their hands. "It appears it is unanimous."

Fudge hit his gavel on his sound block one final time, "Peter Pettigrew, you have been sentenced to a lifetime in Azkaban to repent for your sins that you have committed-"

Sirius stopped paying attention as Fudge listed off Peter's crimes, eyes burning into the side of the man himself. Peter turned as if he felt his stare, and he at least had the dignity to look ashamed before averting his eyes.

Memories flew through his mind, pranks, countless nights spent talking and creating the Marauders Map, sneaking about the castle after curfew. Getting detention, and having a family when he didn't have one in his own 'home'. When did Peter stop feeling like he was family too, when had things changed for him? One part of him wanted to ask, and the other decided that perhaps some questions were best left unanswered. The answers too painful to swallow.

"With that, the trial of Peter Pettigrew, Death Eater, has officially come to a close," Fudge said, addressing everyone gathered in the room.

Witches and Wizards alike tried to come up to them, most likely to in their good graces. Sirius noticed Albus was still seated in his seat across the room, and when their gaze met, Dumbledore smiled warmly at him, but there was no twinkle. Sirius gritted his teeth together, and navigated his way through the crowd; Remus and Regulus close behind him.

The three men flooed out of the Ministry as soon as they could, not wanting to be there any longer than they had to be. They had gotten justice, it didn't feel as fulfilling as they thought it would, but Sirius felt like an enormous weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. Maybe with this he would be able to start forgiving himself, maybe one day, just maybe, he would be able to forgive Peter too.

...

The streets nearby were devoid of all life, in the distance laughter from a group of children that were playing not too far from their current location, rebounded and echoed around their surroundings.

It was almost Christmas, so the muggle residential areas were littered with decorations, and they had already begun to go about caroling at night for anyone who would to hear.

The Wizarding World was also celebrating, it was a joyous occasion, and Peter Pettigrew's trial a few days prior only seemed to add fuel to the fire of the festivities. Justice. There was an ongoing party since the Daily Prophet article about Remus taking Pettigrew into the Ministry had been published. It was another Death Eater put away, and as far as they were concerned, it meant that their World was safer. That the Dark forces really were gone.

Regulus knew better. It had been nice to rejoin society, even if he couldn't go three feet into Diagon Alley before he was mobbed by curious witches and wizards. Remus was embarrassed and a bit put off by all the attention he was getting. Sirius had loved it at first, but he too tired of it quickly. It was weary being bombarded with numerous questions all at once whenever you showed your face in public. Especially when he wanted to go and get a 'ruddy ice-cream' as he put it. He had been craving Florean Fortescue's ice-cream for ages, and whilst Remus brought it back as a treat occasionally-he had missed going in person and the general ambience of the ice-cream parlour. Being surrounded by sweaty, sticky bodies and almost suffocated in the robes of some witch, was not exactly what he had in mind.

Regulus didn't mention it to Sirius or Remus, but he figured that they too knew what all this attention meant. Whenever they did give an interview or speak to the public, they were going to be listened to and heard. Which would only benefit them in their upcoming battle against one of the most beloved and trusted Wizards of their time.

That was for another day, today they had another task to set out on.

"Are you ready?" Regulus asked softly, turning his gaze from his boots and the cobblestone sidewalk up towards the short staircase in front of him, and the dark door with a silver number 12 beside it. Still shiny, it looked just the same as the last time he had been here.

"To step foot inside of that hellhole again?" Sirius snorted. "Probably never will be, but we all have to do things we don't want to. I think we've put this off long enough. Don't you? Might as well suck it up and just get it over with," Sirius said gravely. Regulus saw the apprehension openly displayed across his brother's face, the tinge of fear, and how just being in the presence of their childhood home aged him by a few years.

There was nothing happy or pleasant for them housed inside those walls. Only memories, and old ghosts. It was imperative that they did this, despite how much they hated the very idea of it.

"I'll go first," Sirius swallowed thickly. Regulus had learned several years ago that true bravery was not being fearless, but having the courage to face the things that you feared-to stand up against the things that frightened you, left you quaking in your boots; to face the things that haunted you at night.

They cautiously ascended the stairs, hesitating in front of the door for a moment before Regulus reached out and twisted the doorknob. Pushing the door in.

It was dark, almost pitch black, Regulus withdrew his wand out of his robes, " _lumos maxima_."

His wand light provided enough light for them to see a few feet in front of them. However it was also enough light to rouse whatever was down the corridor, a voice reaching them that sounded remarkably like their recently deceased Mother.

"What in Godric's name is that?" Sirius asked, and at the same time, the wall lights came on, the vast chandelier above the grand staircase in the entryway glittered despite the copious amount of dust covering it. It was spooky, but they had been through stranger things, so they decided to dismiss it for now. Who knew what spells Walburga had cast on Grimmauld Place in their absence.

The Black brothers stepped inside, wands out, and closing the front door behind them.

They soon discovered the portrait of their 'beloved' Mother.

"Even in death we can't get rid of her," Sirius said, mouth open in horror.

"BLOOD TRAITOR, FILTHY STAIN ON MY GOOD NAME AND HOUSE-" Walburga's portrait froze when she saw Regulus, the vehement expression on her face sliding away quickly.

"Regulus, my boy, I thought you were-"

"Dead, yes I know. Long story. Can't be arsed to tell it to a dead person, and it's inconsequential either way," Regulus drawled. It had definitely been a shock to the system, seeing their Mother's portrait, but he smoothed his ruffled feathers down quickly.

Sirius whilst gobsmacked, decided that he couldn't be the only one to be yelled at, and wanted to stir the pot, so he said, "Regulus married a Muggleborn and has a son."

Walburga's jaw fell open, flabbergasted, but not a syllable fell from her lips. "What? I have a grandson?"

"Are you fucking kidding me, she finds out about that and she still doesn't get angry at you?" Sirius threw his hands in the air, Regulus merely raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms over his chest next to his brother.

"You ungrateful cur! I raised you yet how did you repay me? Gryffindor. Potters. Fighting on the side against your _family_!" Walburga spat acidly, eyes narrowing into slits.

"I'm ungrateful?" Sirius scoffed. "You let a madman try to brand me when I was sixteen, he actually did brand Regulus a year later when he turned sixteen, and then you left me to rot in the _family_ room. Where _dear_ cousin Bella decided to punish me for not being a good boy...if I didn't make it to the floo network, by crawling across the floor, and going to the _Potters_ , I would've died!" Sirius growled at the portrait, his nose now only a few inches away from the painted one.

"You betrayed your _family_!"

"What family? Our family was a farce, a joke, your bloody reputation was more important than our well being!" Sirius threw back hotly, letting out a low growl before he turned on his heel, and head further into the house on his own.

"BLOOD TRAITOR! FILTH! YOU-" Regulus was relieved to see that whoever had commissioned the painting, had also been forward thinking enough to also attach a set of deep green, velvet curtains to the frame. He untied them, and watched with satisfaction as they swooshed into place. _The curtains have a muffling charm as well? Brilliant._

"Sirius, where have you gotten off to?" Regulus asked, he headed the way his brother had gone, down one of the many corridors in the house. He had forgotten how ornate everything was, from the floor to the walls, the paintings and an empty frame where his ancestor Phineas Nigellus Black would be if he was not in the Headmaster's office at Hogwarts. That had been one factor he had considered after Walburga's death; the house would be empty, but Phineas's portrait was still there, and he was meant to advise the current Headmaster of Hogwarts.

"Sirius!" Regulus called again, his voice echoing for what felt like an eternity in the empty, eerie house. There was a thick layer of dust over everything, which made him doubt if Kreacher was still alive or not. Kreacher had always prided himself on keeping the Manor neat and tidy.

"Over here! Oi! Let go of me you wretched beast!" Sirius's voice bounced and ricocheted off of walls until it reached his ears. Regulus frowned, but broke into a light jog, footsteps muffled slightly by the carpet.

"Sirius-" Regulus burst into one of the small drawing rooms and he saw a peculiar sight, Sirius was poking his wand into the head of a much small creature, that was holding fast to his leg around his shin and knee.

"Stain upon this house! Mistress would be so sad if she were to know that her murderous son had broken into her noble house!" The creature cried, Regulus was stunned, instead of the uniform that he used to wear Kreacher was wearing what appeared to be a small burlap sack that he had tied roughly around his leg holes, his feet were bare, and he looked as if he had aged significantly-deep wrinkles in his face, his wide eyes clenched shut as he continued to yell.

"Kreacher?" Regulus said softly, but it was enough to call the bond he had with his House Elf to life. Kreacher's eyes flew open and his head snapped in Regulus's direction.

"Master!" Kreacher said excitedly, still latched onto Sirius's leg.

"Mind giving me a little help here?" Sirius asked incredulously, wand still prodding the House Elf's forehead as he had attempted to push him away; it was a sad attempt at best, but he didn't think Regulus would be too happy if he had stunned his beloved House Elf.

"Kreacher!" Regulus said happily, squatting down, resting his forearms on his thighs, wand still clasped in his hand.

"See, now you can ask him about the ruddy locket!" Sirius suggested, especially happy when Kreacher released him and bounded for Regulus. Regulus placed a hand on the House Elf's shoulder as hot, fat tears began to fall from his eyes.

"I kept it for you Master, the locket...Kreacher tried to destroy it, but it's filled with dark, dark magic. Kreacher burned it, and smashed it, and did everything Kreacher could think of," Kreacher sniffed.

"Where is it now, Kreacher?" Regulus asked gently, the horcrux was most likely the reason for why Kreacher had aged so much, he knew that it had driven him slightly mad when he had had it in his possession for a few days, who knew what affects it would have on someone after years of being in close proximity to it.

"I-I'll go get it Master," Kreacher nodded his head eagerly, snapping his fingers and vanishing with a small pop.

"Can you at least ask him to listen to me?" Sirius asked, smoothing out the creases in his leather pants.

"Why?" Regulus smirked.

"You're a wanker, you know that right?" Sirius scowled, running his fingers backwards through his long hair, deftly throwing it into a high bun, some strands sticking out messily. How Sirius always looked so well put together, yet dishevelled at the same time, he would never know.

"Fine I will, first I want to get him out of this house. So I'll send him to the Cottage then we can figure out how to deal with this locket," Regulus said.

"How many more do you think there are, if any?" Sirius said after a few moments, however Kreacher had apparated back into the room, holding a small bundle swaddled in dinghy cloth.

"It speaks sometimes," Kreacher said quietly, reluctantly handing it over to his Master when he reached for it, a concerned expression on his face; he obviously didn't want to hand something so wretched over to his Master, especially when he knew how dastardly it really was, and he didn't want that kind of evil around Regulus.

"Thank you, Kreacher. I have two things to ask of you, I want you to listen and obey Sirius, he is your Master too," Kreacher narrowed his eyes at that, but said nothing, "and I want you to go to Black Cottage, it's in the countryside, you should be able to find Remus Lupin in Diagon Alley right now, he'll take you there. I'd like for you to stay there until we get back." Regulus stated firmly.

"As you wish Master," Kreacher bowed his head, he glanced at Sirius over his shoulder, and sighed heavily. This time when he apparated it was a bit louder than before, and then Regulus and Sirius were left alone with a cursed object.

"Fiendfyre is the only method we have currently at our disposal...where are we going to do this?" Sirius asked softly.

"I know we can control it, but I think that we need to do this in a secluded area, somewhere that if we do lose control, then it won't hurt anyone," Regulus responded.

"I would love to see this house burn to the ground, but I suppose doing it here wouldn't be wise," Sirius said dryly, "do you remember that beach we went to when we were little, it was one of the only times Mother and Father took us anywhere really...it stretched on for miles and miles, just beach and the sea.

"I do...that could work," Regulus nodded slowly, he stood up, and clutched the cloth wrapped object in his hands tighter, it felt kind of hot. "I think we need to do it soon, grab hold of me," Regulus instructed, Sirius crossed the room, and grabbed onto Regulus's shoulder. He didn't even hesitate, he pictured the greyish sand, the cold ocean and he felt the familiar pull around his belly button, moments later with a large crack they were gone. Not even a moment later, the lights extinguished themselves.

...

The roar of the ocean was almost deafening as they arrived, it was just as they remembered it, miles and miles of beach in both directions, behind them the sand led onto a dirt path, that if you kept walking down after at least a day's walk would lead you to a small settlement; there was foliage and shrubbery farther down the path, but you couldn't see it from the beach. The sky was stormy, dark and the clouds looked as if they would descend and suffocate them, in the distance they heard rolling thunder, which meant lightning wasn't too far behind.

"I think you need to do it," Sirius yelled over the waves and thunder.

"Why me?"

"You're the one who found it! You're the one who took it out of that cave! I think it's only right that you be the one who destroys it too!" Sirius answered, Regulus barely heard him, but he supposed it made sense. He felt an obligation to see this through all the way to the end.

"Put it on that rock over there!" Sirius yelled, a bit farther up on the beach was a rock sticking out of the sand. Regulus pushed his bangs out of his face as they wind whipped his hair about.

He climbed the sandy hill, and took a deep breath before placing it on the rock, making sure not to actually touch the locket as he unfolded the cloth flaps.

"Get back!" Regulus yelled at Sirius, backing away quickly so there was some distance between him and the locket. He didn't know how, but he couldn't feel how angry the locket was, as if it could sense it's imminent doom. Sirius had his wand raised, as did Regulus.

Before either of them could utter the incantation they needed, the golden doors of the locket swung wide open with a little click, something Regulus didn't know could happen. He was under the impression that it would only open if a Parseltongue like Voldemort had spoken, but it was probably trying to defend itself, making one last desperate attempt in order to not be destroyed.

Regulus could barely make it out, but as they both inched closer he saw that behind both of the glass windows within blinked a living eye, dark and handsome as Tom Riddle's eyes had been before he turned them scarlet and slit-pupiled.

A voice hissed from out the Horcrux. "I have seen your heart, and it is mine."

"Reg! Destroy it now!" Sirius yelled. Regulus gritted his teeth and raised his wand once more.

"I have seen your desires, your fears, I know what is deep in your heart, Regulus Black," the voice hissed.

"Regulus! Don't listen to it!" Sirius screamed, eyes wide as out of the locket's two windows, out of the eyes, there bloomed a grotesque bubble, the head of Emmeline Vance, weirdly distorted.

"Regulus!" Sirius yelled again, but Regulus didn't hear him this time, he was only focused on the figure that was growing and stepped out of the locket.

She stood in front of it, completely nude, but her skin a grey colour, and it was her eyes, they weren't the same. "Don't you want to be together again, Regulus?"

Regulus was frozen, unable to move.

"To be a family, with Caelum, Sirius and Remus?" the Riddle-Emmeline asked, smiling brightly. "We can be a family again."

"Regulus! Destroy it! It's not her, she's not really here!"

He knew that, he knew that, yet he couldn't take his eyes off of her, she held her hand out and he was almost persuaded to step forward and take it.

Regulus bit the inside of his cheek and tasted the metallic taste that flowed around his mouth as the flesh broke under his teeth. "I buried my wife years ago, and she was much prettier than you, trust me." Regulus said finally.

The Riddle-Emmeline's eyes turned scarlet red, and Regulus could feel the heat radiating through the cold air from the locket, the heat stinging his skin.

"Regulus!" Sirius yelled again, covering his face with his arms when the heat began to get really intense.

Regulus took a deep breath and remembered what he needed to do, "nice try, but it wasn't good enough!" Regulus pointed his wand at the locket, and yelled the incantation they had all learned and practice, and he forced the flames that flew out of his wand, to head directly for the locket. The Riddle-Emmeline let out a long, pained scream, seeming to cave in on herself, as she melted away. The locket was charred, black and the metal was melting when he reeled the fiendfyre back in, controlling it and uttering the incantation to stop it.

"Did you do it?" Sirius whispered, suddenly everything seemed all too quiet, and a flash of lightning lit their surroundings for a moment, the thunder following not too long after. Both brothers slowly approached the rock, and saw wisps of black smoke rising out of the horcrux, it was silent. No more whispers, or taunts, just silence.

Before Regulus knew what was happening, Sirius was hugging him and he hugged him back. "One down," Regulus said, letting out a deep sigh, finally the mission he had tried to carry out years ago was complete. A great weight fell away from his shoulders, and as the last bits of smoke drifted into the air, and he held his brother tightly, he began to cry. For Emmeline, for Sirius, for Caelum, and he even cried for Remus. Now all that they had left on their immediate agenda was to get back the Boy Who Lived; so that he could be with who he truly belonged. _I have a family, it may not have been the family I envisioned, but I have a family,_ Regulus thought as the sea breeze washed over them. _I have a family._

…

"Dad!" Caelum exclaimed, running across the front yard and jumping into Regulus's arms. Regulus spun his son around, hugging him to him, a broad smile on his face.

Caelum had been with the Lovegoods for almost a week, it had made Regulus antsy, but he had agreed until they destroyed the horcrux, he would need to stay away. He didn't want his son anywhere near such a dark piece of magic. He had gratefully written a letter to Pandora and Xenophilius after they had agreed to keep him.

Regulus had been a bit taken aback when Xenophilius pulled him into a hug when he had arrived, unsure how to react, he merely patted the other man's back. Pandora had rested her palm against his cheek, and told him, "well done, she would have been proud." That had confused him endlessly since there was no way she could have known what they were doing, but she shot him a dreamy smile and then said she would go and get Caelum. Remus had laughed heartily when he saw Regulus's stunned expression.

"Pandora tends to have that effect on people," Remus had said, clapping his friend on the back.

"Thanks for taking care of him so long, we wanted to get all of the...unpleasant stuff over and done with before we came to get him," Remus said, smiling at the reunion in front of him.

"He really is quite a sweet boy," Pandora said to Remus as she strolled slowly beside him over to where Regulus and Sirius were with Caelum. "Promise me that you'll come visit...after," Pandora said cryptically, and for once Remus swore that the witch looked worried, a tiny crease in her brow.

"Pandora...why do I feel like there's something wrong?" Remus said lowly, Xenophilius had just come out of the house, Luna skipping beside him.

"Everyone has their time, Remus...treasure them Remus, they all love you, and you are not the monster you still secretly think you are," Pandora said warmly, she softly touched her knuckles to his cheek, her hand was cool against his warm skin, and he involuntarily shivered.

"That doesn't tell me anything, Pandora," Remus frowned deeply, "maybe I can help-"

"That is a sweet notion my lovely Moony, but I'm afraid it won't be necessary," Pandora smiled gently, her bare toes wiggling in the damp earth beneath their feet.

"Remus! You ready?" Regulus called, distracting him from the confusing conversation he had just engaged in, and he nodded dumbly, turning to hug Pandora, her slender hands wrapped around him. "Promise me, Remus," was the faint whisper in his ear.

"I promise," Remus responded, he still wasn't sure what he was agreeing to, but Pandora was his friend, and she had been there for him during one of his lowest moments, in his time of great need. He would do virtually anything for her, she was almost family.

He withdrew from the hug, and he couldn't help but shake the look in Pandora's eyes before he turned to walk away-they were filled with a deep sorrow, one he didn't quite understand, or know why it was present in her pale eyes.

Caelum and Luna were hugging when he reached the others. "Promise you'll come to visit again?" Luna asked gently, Remus smirked, she most certainly took after her Mother.

Caelum looked up at his Father, whose face was briefly filled with surprise, but he nodded instantly. "Promise," Caelum smiled broadly.

"You ready to apparate Caelum? Remember don't let go of me," Regulus instructed his son firmly, Caelum's mouth twisted to the side, most likely holding in a snarky comment; he certainly took after his Uncle in that regard.

"I remember Dad, we've done it once before," Caelum insisted, grabbing ahold of his Father's much larger hand. "I didn't even puke, most people puke their first time."

Sirius snickered at that, Regulus sighed softly, and Remus smirked, it was still too soon to know what house Caelum was going to be in, but Remus had an idea.

"Bye guys!" They chorused together as they waved at the Lovegoods, Remus's eyes meeting Pandora's as he prepared to apparate.

Her pale orbs, her creased brow, and her pale hair fluttering and flowing as if it too was a part of the wind-was the last thing Remus saw before he turned on his heel and apparated away.

It would be the last time he would ever see Pandora Lovegood.

* * *

 **I am so, so, sorry. I know I don't really have a lot of canon elements in this story...but somehow my mind had to let this be one of them. I am so sorry, writing that final line made me cry. It did.**

 **I did have to do a bit of research with my lovely DH to get descriptions of the locket, so if any of those bits seem familiar it's because I used one or two lines, for the most part though that was all me. I am nervous about the reactions to that scene since it officially confirms that Emmeline is in fact dead, if there had been any doubts before.**

 **Peter is going to Azkaban, yay! I would love to hear how everyone thinks the Dumbledore vs. Regulus/Sirius/Remus battle is going to go down, it's truly going to be a great deal of fun, hopefully at least.**

 **Seriously thank you all for your support, reviews and overall loveliness *hearts***

 **Love,**

 **Indieblue xxx**


	11. Bad News

**HELLO HELLO!**

 **I apologise for what happens in this chapter, I am.**

 **I have thankfully finished all the planning for part one, and it won't be too too long now before we are in part two. There will be a bit of a time jump in between part one and part two, just warning you now.**

 **Hopefully you all like this chapter, and I am blown away by all the love I get for this story! Thank you all for being so patient with me, I had a bit of writer's block for this story, but thankfully it seems to be gone now.**

 **Please leave a review and let me know what you think :)**

 **My tumblr: indiebluecrown. tumblr. com**

 **Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling, and only the story line and any OC's belong to me.**

 **For Sable, my dear, dear friend. I love you bunches and bunches! *hearts***

* * *

 **Flashback**

 **Sunday, November 1st, 1981**

 **Wee Hours of the Morning**

 **Potter Cottage**

"I'll get 'im there Professor Dumbledore. Don't you worry," Hagrid swore, Harry looking miniscule in his massive arms.

"I have every bit of faith that you will," Dumbledore smiled gently, watching as Hagrid walked away, getting onto Sirius's bike. He vaguely heard the purr of the engine as Hagrid started it.

 _I doubt he'll have much need of it soon,_ Dumbledore thought, shaking his head as he turned back to the cottage. Where it lay for the most part in ruin. The sound of the bike as it drove away faintly buzzing in his ears.

Something was tugging him inside, what it was he didn't know. Curiousity perhaps. Why had the boy survived, whilst Lily and James perished?

Silently he strode towards the house, drawing his wand, just in case. Holding it loosely in front of him, he grimaced when he saw James Potter's body, covered in debris. He quickly looked away, and the feeling was back, drawing him upstairs, pulling on something inside of him gently.

Moments later he was standing in Harry's room, and it only seemed to get stranger.

Lily lay there, and he knew that she had been killed by the killing curse. He had seen that look too often in his life, more than he cared to admit.

 _Most peculiar, what was so special about the boy?_ Dumbledore mused, stroking his long beard. Then he noticed something that would plague him for years. _Where_ Lily's body was directly in front of the crib, which made sense if she was trying to put herself between Harry and Voldemort. He dismissed it swiftly, it was most likely nothing.

Dumbledore looked sadly upon his former student, before he turned away and left the house. There was nothing left here but pain and death. Someone from the Ministry was sure to come and look at the house in the morning, and take the Potters bodies. There was someone he needed to go see.

* * *

Dumbledore knocked on Minerva's office door, when he received no response he pushed it open. Only to find it silent as a grave, her sheets ruffled-very unlike Minerva-and for the room to be empty. _I have an idea as to where she might be._

* * *

The Wizarding folk began their celebration in the early hours of the morning, as the news spread as quickly as fiendfyre. Spraying sparks from their wands, walking about freely in Muggle London, spreading their joy to anyone who would listen. Most Muggles dismissed them as crazy people. Talk of magic, and dark lords being defeated was brushed off as they hurried away from the people in funny clothing.

Dumbledore watched as owls flew in and out of the owlery and the Great Hall all day. All across the country people were celebrating and spreading the news. Even the Muggles had noticed something was amiss, (even if they didn't believe whatever the men and women in strange clothing said) as they had never seen so many owls during the day-hundreds if he estimated correctly, much less fireworks at random times. They must find them so strange to be traipsing about in cloaks, pointy hats and strange clothes.

Cornelius was beside himself, having no control over the Wizarding population, but who was he to stop their festivities. He had scheduled a meeting with the Muggle Prime Minister to inform them of the current turn of events. You-Know-Who had been defeated he told him, their worlds were both safe.

Dumbledore had an inkling that that was not entirely true, but who was he to say that when hope had been restored. No. It was time for healing, for the Wizarding world to recover from the torment it had been under for so long.

Dumbledore's suspicions were confirmed when he arrived at Number Four, Privet Drive that evening. Clicking open his deluminator, waiting patiently as the lights from the surrounding area all flew towards him, neatly tucking themselves into the device in his hand.

Seated primly on the stone wall close by the house, an almost scolding look on her face was Minerva McGonagall.

He knew she would not approve of his decision to leave Harry with his muggle relatives. He easily sat down on the wall next to the tabby cat, and she made her thoughts on the matter very clear in the next few moments. This was of course after he confirmed that the rumours about the Potters were true.

Dumbledore smiled slightly, resting his hands on the cool stone, feeling the dirt against his palms. Minerva had been taken aback once he told her that he had entrusted Hagrid to bring the boy here.

Leaving Harry here was the _only_ way.

"Professor, they are the worst sort of muggles, can we not raise him in the castle...anywhere but here?" Minerva insisted.

"It is best he stays with his family, Minerva. For everyone." Albus said firmly, popping another lemon drop in his mouth, the tart, bitter taste spreading across his tongue.

At that moment, Hagrid arrived, Harry swaddled in blankets. With a few large tears, and a heartfelt farewell, the half-giant handed the boy over to Dumbledore.

Minerva tried once more as they walked towards the door. "Albus, may we please talk about this. The boy will be famous, everyone in our world will know who he is. These muggles, they detest everything magical-"

"Minerva, this is my decision and it's final. That's precisely my point...it's best if he's raised away from all that," Dumbledore said softly, but there was an edge of hardness to his voice that she obviously picked up on; since she didn't say anything else. Instead she adjusted the brim of her emerald green hat, tucking a stray strand of dark hair behind her ear.

Dumbledore carefully placed Harry on the doorstep, still bent at the middle, he reached into his robes and retrieved the letter he had written the Dursleys. He gently tucked it within one of the folds of Harry's blankets.

Dumbledore took one last look at Harry, his eyes narrowing at his scar. The _strange_ feeling that he was missing something came flooding back to the surface. Shaking it off, he straightened himself out again. Rapping his knuckles across the door, once, twice, thrice. With that he turned on his heel and headed back down the driveway.

Hagrid got back on the bike, Minerva said goodnight, her voice a touch cold before she apparated away, and then it was just him.

Dumbledore glanced over his shoulder once more. "Good luck, Harry Potter. The Boy Who Lived," he pulled the deluminator out of his robes, and flipped the top open. Orbs of light hastily flew out, as if they had been eagerly awaiting their cue to do so. The street was once more lit, and Dumbledore nodded to himself before turning on his heel. A sharp pop and a suctioning feeling in the pit of his stomach later, and the Headmaster of Hogwarts was vanished into thin air.

It was if everything had returned to normal, though anyone who knew better, knew that was terribly far away from the truth.

* * *

 **Friday, December 25th, 1987**

 **Christmas Day**

 **Black Cottage**

"Was a gold cauldron really necessary, Sirius?" Regulus asked as he unwrapped the gift he had gotten from his brother.

"I knew you like to brew, and you've been suffering with that pewter cauldron for the longest time. Just accept the gift," Sirius said, sitting down beside his brother, handing him a cup of coffee as he did. Reaching over moments later to ruffle his hair.

Sirius had spoiled everyone, he'd gotten Remus about ten different finely made jumpers, and a secret gift that wasn't for children's eyes that he had given him the night before. Regulus muttered about how he really didn't want to know about the things they did in the bedroom, and he was glad he was up to cast silencing charms on their room. He would hate for his son to be corrupted with their filthy, sex talk.

Sirius had gotten Caelum a training broom, which the boy had loved immediately, forgetting that he had gotten other gifts before he was running out the door; Kreacher quickly following behind him, yelling, "be careful young Master Caelum!"

"You made my gift of the books he wanted look shabby in comparison," Regulus said dryly, taking a long drag from his coffee.

"Oh, cheer up, Reg. It's Christmas!" Sirius exclaimed.

Remus walked into the living room then, agiley avoiding the scraps of wrapping paper and gifts, unwrapped or not. Clasped in his hands was a letter, Regulus could just barely make out loopy writing from the back of the parchment. There was a dreamy smile on Remus's face.

"Who is that from love?" Sirius asked as Remus sat down beside him, finishing off the rest of his letter.

"Pandora I wager," Regulus hazarded a guess, and Remus nodded absently on confirmation.

"At least it's a lot nicer than that letter we got yesterday," Sirius grumbled. Dumbledore had sent them a letter the prior night, and it had almost, almost ruined Sirius's Christmas mood.

The hearing for the custody of Harry James Potter was set to be on April twenty-fifth of the next year; Dumbledore thought he would show them the courtesy of letting them know before the Wizengamot sent them the official letter. Sirius had broken a vase with a spat of accidental magic, Regulus had swiftly repaired it, lips pursed.

 _"Long bearded bastard," Sirius snarled, "he knows that he has no claims to Harry. What, does he think putting it off will help? Plus he knows the Wizengamot can't actually bring Petunia and her puce faced husband into the Ministry if they do not wish to come. He's planning something. I know it!"_

 _"Whilst that is true, I think we ought to remain vigilant...I think it's soon time we talk to the Prophet...don't you brother?" Regulus mused, examining his fingernails with slight interest. Sirius merely grinned in response._

They decided that they would wait until the New Year to speak to the Prophet.

Sirius pursed his lips. He opened and closed his mouth, brow knitted together. Remus kissed his temple gently upon seeing Sirius's perplexed expression.

"What's wrong?" Regulus asked, reading his brother easily.

"What if...what if we don't get him back?" Sirius whispered softly, as if uttering the words would make them come true, his eyes widening in horror.

"No," Regulus said sharply, putting his hand on his brother's shoulder. "I don't care what it takes, we are getting Harry Potter back. Dumbledore be dammed."

After that the joy of the day was pretty much gone for three men, all lost in their own grim thoughts. That was until Caelum came running back inside the house, Kreacher panting heavily, a hand on his side, the other on the open doorway.

"Daddy! I did it, come watch!" Caelum exclaimed happily, turning on his heel and bolting out the door again. His coat was a bit damp from falling in the snow, and his raven hair was dusted in the white powder.

The three men followed the boy outside, Kreacher once again in hot pursuit of his young master.

Caelum's brow furrowed as he focused on what he was doing, both of his small, chubby, gloved hands firmly grasping the wooden handle in between his legs. His tongue sticking out of the side of his mouth, he pushed off of the ground with everything in his little body.

The men moved forward worriedly as the broom shook, and Caelum wobbled a few feet off of the ground; but then his feet moved backwards until they were seated properly in the stirrups at the back of the broom, and he tipped the broom upwards.

The three wizards cheered loudly as he began to fly-even if it was a bit slowly- upwards, a radiant smile on his face as he turned the broom so he was flying in circles, about ten feet off the ground.

Kreacher incredulously looked at the men, wide eyed, shaking his head. "They are going to kill Kreacher with worry they are, all of them."

Watching his son fly about with so much pure, unadulterated joy lit a fire in his heart again. It renewed a flicker of hope that he didn't know existed anymore. They were going to get Harry back, they had to. Regulus glanced at Sirius and Remus, arms wrapped around each other's waists; upon seeing the shining hope in their eyes, he knew that they felt it too.

Dumbledore could push back the trial all he wanted with his ties to the Wizengamot, but they would be the ones that walked out of that courtroom victorious.

* * *

 **Saturday, February 13th, 1988**

 **Lovegood Residence**

 **Luna Lovegood's Birthday**

"There a problem, Remus?" Regulus asked as the werewolf traipsed into the kitchen that morning. Looking perplexed and worried. Remus roughly rubbed his hand down his face, his navy blue, plaid pyjama pants riding low on his hips. For once he was shirtless, which was surprising since Regulus knew that he still felt uncomfortable displaying his scarred body. Which meant whatever it was, was troubling him greatly.

"I was supposed to go to the Lovegoods today with Caelum to celebrate Luna's birthday...but there was an owl at my window just now. I got a letter from Pandora...she said that she's sorry, but Luna isn't feeling well. So she'd hate for us to waste our time, or for Caelum to catch her cold," Remus responded, voice a bit scratchy, drugged with sleep.

"That's thoughtful of her," Regulus commented, placing a cup of black coffee with way too much sugar in it in Remus's direction. The Werewolf leaned against the counter next to him, and picked up the coffee with a small thank you, and weak smile.

"Well-"

"Everyone ready?" Sirius's head popped out of his bedroom, his hair messily piled into a bun on top of his head.

"Not yet, Sirius," Regulus drawled, lazily blowing on the dark liquid in his mug before taking a sip of his piping hot coffee. Tapping his bare foot against the hardwood floor as he looked between Remus and Sirius.

They were scheduled to go to St. Mungo's today and get an evaluation about whether they were suitable guardians for Harry. They had intended to go to Luna's party for a couple hours and then head to their appointment, but not it seemed as if they would have hours to spare.

Sirius had originally snorted and ripped up the letter when it arrived. _"Fucking Petunia and Vernon didn't need to get an_ _ **evaluation**_ _, oh but that's right...Dumbledore did what the fuck he wanted, and got away with it."_

"I'll go get Storm and send Luna's gift and letter with him," Remus sighed, taking his coffee with him as he left the kitchen.

Storm was their personal falcon they had gotten a few weeks back. Regulus had taken Caelum into Diagon Alley, and instead of the snowy white owl he had tried to convince his son to get, he'd immediately fallen in love with the bird of prey instead.

He was affectionately rubbing its' beak with the back of his index finger and calling him Storm before they had even left the store. Regulus liked to say that it was only Sirius the boy had wrapped around his finger, but they all knew that pretty much everything Caelum wanted, he got.

Storm somehow had a sweet disposition, and he had seemed quite taken with Caelum; so in the end, Regulus walked out of Magical Menagerie with a shiny silver cage, and a brown falcon watching everything around it with sharp, keen eyes.

Training Storm had surprisingly not taken much time at all, he was a highly intelligent bird, and the only downfall so far was that he had shocked all of their correspondents greatly; though Regulus secretly didn't think that was so bad.

"We don't need to be there for another-" Regulus pulled his time piece from his trouser pocket (he was already showered and changed) "five hours." He guessed that Remus had relayed the news about Luna's birthday party to him before he had come into the kitchen earlier, so he didn't bother to explain the situation to his brother.

Sirius narrowed his eyes at his brother before his head slowly disappeared into his room, Regulus merely rolled his eyes at his brother's dramatics.

Of course, they walked into the lobby of St. Mungo's not even an hour and a half later.

"Daddy, why are we here?" Caelum asked curiously, eyes widening as he saw some of the ailing patients in the waiting room area not too far away.

"Remember how we told you about Harry?" Regulus asked, bending down in front of his son, gently holding onto his forearm.

Caelum nodded eagerly, a grin breaking out onto his face, "Harry Potter!" Thankfully no one had been paying them any mind, or they would've heard Caelum's loud outburst.

"Well we need to talk to some people today, to check and make sure we're going to be fit caretakers and guardians," Regulus smiled softly, and Caelum's mouth made a small 'o' as he nodded his head in understanding.

"It probably won't be very interesting but-"

"Well, look who we have here," a stern, yet amused voice came from behind him, and Regulus had only ever heard it once before. In the middle of Diagon Alley as she had a loud row with his Mother.

"Augusta," Sirius blinked blankly, and Regulus stood up to face the formidable, older woman. She was tall, thin and bony, yet there was a regal and veiled, threatening air about her.

"Sirius," the witch responded, nodding in greeting, when her eyes landed on Remus however, a genuine smile touched her lips. "Young Remus."

"Augusta," Remus smiled warmly, stepping into the brief embrace the witch offered.

"He must be Caelum, the boy I've heard about in the Prophet...rubbish paper, but sometimes you find some shred of truth in the waste of ink that they print," Augusta snorted, but looked kindly at Caelum, who was now partially hidden behind his Father's robes, clinging to his leg.

It was then that Regulus noticed a blond haired boy that was peeking out shyly from behind Augusta's red handbag, blue eyes blinking rapidly as he took them all in.

"So, you three are truly trying to get back the boy then?" Augusta asked as if they were talking about how they took their tea.

"Yes," Sirius answered firmly, grey eyes flashing with determination.

"I wish you all the best…" Augusta turned to walk away, but then added, "Dorea would be proud of you. All three of you. Now go get back her grandson."

"Augusta!" Remus called out behind the woman, whose heels had been clipping across the white tile as she walked away. She turned towards them, a tiny frown on her face, lips pursed.

"If it isn't too much trouble...could we come visit _them_?"

* * *

Regulus had had no idea who Remus was referring to at the time, but as soon as they entered the Janus Thickey Ward, he knew.

He swiftly bent down and picked Caelum up-who automatically wrapped his around him-and was holding onto Regulus's shoulder as they moved forward.

Remus and Sirius both stopped cold when they followed Augusta into Frank and Alice's room.

It was a simple room, with the lilac curtains, and there was a bedside table in between their two single beds. On top of it was an assortment of picture frames, and different empty, candy wrappers that were littered there.

Frank was asleep, but Alice was sitting up in her bed, staring blankly at the wall to her left.

After Regulus gently nudged the two men forward with his knee, he strode into the room, and saw that there were quite a few colourful children's drawings stuck to the walls. A trunk was at the bottom of both of their beds, each with a thick padlock.

Frank and Alice both seemed to be wearing light yellow pyjamas, with midnight blue pinstripes. Though their thick sheets were covering most of their bodies.

Alice heard them come in, and she turned towards them, but there was no flicker of recognition, or joy in her face. A simple smile seemed to be permanently on her face.

"Go say hello to your Mother, Neville," Augusta gently urged the young boy, who nodded and ran off to his Mother, climbing up on her bedside, and he began to chatter away to her. Alice was turned in his direction, but she didn't react to anything he was saying, but she did hand him a candy wrapper after a few moments.

"Don't be scared, boys, she doesn't bite," Augusta said after the men merely stood in silence at the foot of Frank's bed. "Go and talk to her."

"What do the Healers say?" Regulus asked Augusta quietly as Sirius and Remus walked around to the other side of Alice's bed. Gratefully accepting the wrappers that she gave both of them with a blank smile.

"The chances that either of them are going to be as they were is...well...they may become more responsive with more therapy and they said that the more interpersonal contact they have, the better," Augusta responded, and Regulus heard the slight tremble in her voice.

Regulus would have apologised, but it felt like an empty gesture, so he carefully put Caelum on the ground and told him to go say hi to the nice lady, and to be gentle with her. Then he stood up and put a hand on Augusta's shoulder. The witch didn't stiffen or complain as he had suspected she might, instead she reached up and placed her hand on top of his.

They stayed like that for a while, silent, and watching the ones they loved interact.

Later on, they all said their farewells, and when they left, the men noticed that they only had a few minutes until their meeting. They had unknowingly spent hours with their friends, and Caelum had made a new friend. Augusta said they were welcome to visit again, and she had smiled when Caelum drew Neville in for a hug. The blond boy had been startled, and had taken a step back out of shock; both of them nearly tumbling to the ground, but after a moment's hesitation, be cautiously hugged Caelum back.

None of them felt like celebrating after all of them had passed their interviews, psych evaluations and medical exams. Seeing Alice and Frank had put a damper on their good spirits, mainly because they hadn't thought of their friends in years, and had never gone to visit them until today; which only happened because they had bumped into Augusta.

"I wish we could do something," Sirius sighed, kicking a pebble on the sidewalk after they exited the building.

"I guess all we can do is simply be there for them," Remus said reticently, running a hand through his sandy blond hair.

Regulus knew they had enough on their plate, between figuring out if the Dark Lord had successfully made more horcruxes, fighting for Harry and raising Caelum, but before he could stop himself he said, "I want to try and heal their minds."

"Reg…"Sirius trailed off, brow knitted together, "you know that's highly improbable...the healers themselves-"

"I am well aware...that doesn't mean I don't want to still try," Regulus cut off his brother curtly, holding out his hand for Caelum to grab, and then with his robes flapping out behind him in the cold February air, he began to stride down the sidewalk, gears already whirring in his mind. _I want to try._

* * *

 **Thursday, March 3rd, 1988**

 **Full Moon**

 **Black Cottage**

Sirius woke up that morning to a cold bed. He groggily waved his wand and transparent, white writing glowed in the air in front of him for a brief moment. _09:37._

Remus's headaches had been head splitting the night before, so Sirius had made him some hot chocolate, and they fell asleep, limbs tangled and with Remus's head on Sirius's chest.

They also didn't have anything to do today, so why Remus wasn't in their bed was perplexing, and alarmed by this development, Sirius had sprung out of bed.

He hurried across their room, and he flung open their bedroom door, panic flooding his veins, and he stopped short in the doorway. Chest rising and falling quickly as his eyes darted over the chaotic scene in front of him.

Smashed china in the kitchen, one of the cupboard doors was hanging off of its' hinges, the lamp had been thrown across the room, and broken bits of glass littered the ground. A pillow had been ripped to shreds, and it's downy feathers lay across the ground like it had just snowed.

Laying like a broken man-his hands cut up from the broken glasses he had chucked across the room and smashed around him-in the middle of it all, was Remus.

Sirius moved as quickly, and as carefully as he could, ensuring not to cut open his feet on any of the sharp pieces that lay scattered across the ground. He squatted by Remus's side, hands grasping his lover's face tenderly, wiping away the hot tears that were pouring from his eyes. It was then that he noticed a tear stained piece of parchment in Remus's other hand.

Reaching over Sirius carefully extracted it from Remus's hand, and his eyes scanned the words, his heart sinking, and he found his own eyes wet when he was not even halfway through.

The sender had smudged the ink as they had written, their tears littering the parchment, and he saw fresh spots where Remus's tears had fallen as he had read the letter.

Sirius gently placed it beside him, and pulled Remus into him. The Werewolf sobbed openly then, his nails digging into Sirius's flesh as he clung to him desperately, and Sirius felt the vibrations from Remus's shaking body.

In the back of his mind, he could only hope that Caelum slept in today, he had had a late night last night, worrying over Remus. Regulus ended up carrying Caelum into his bed to sleep with him, after the boy had fallen asleep next to Remus on the couch.

Sirius's eyes blinked away the tears that were blurring his vision, and he simply held Remus.

Regulus peeked out of his bedroom a couple hours later, and upon seeing the destruction, asked Caelum if he wanted to have a lazy day, where they read books and played games. Thankfully the young boy had agreed without any queries or complaints.

It was the worst Full Moon that Remus had had in years, and Sirius had to watch, whining as Remus threw himself against trees, scratched and clawed at himself. He had attempted to stop him, only to be sent sailing through the air.

Sirius had to watch as one of the people he loved most in the world, torture himself, because he blamed himself for not going to see her sooner. He watched as Remus took out his grief over the death of one of the only friends he had left in this world. Pandora Lovegood.

* * *

 _Dear Remus,_

 _It is with a heavy and broken heart that I am writing you today. I have tried to write this letter several times, but I think that my brain has been all fuzzy because of the Nargles._

 _Yesterday morning, whilst I was out, Pandora was in her study, and she was engaging in one of her many experiments. Unfortunately something went horridly wrong, and she was...she was...she had gone before I returned._

 _I found Luna by her side, and she hasn't spoken since._

 _It doesn't feel real, and I'm sure this is all some terrible mistake, and I shall wake up in the morning to find that I had a ridiculously wretched dream, and I will see you for tea soon as you were meant to come in a few days._

 _If...somehow...this is real...then I would appreciate it if you would attend her funeral in a week. I don't know what to do, but there's a Ministry lady that came this morning, and she says she's here to help. I don't trust her...not really, she keeps speaking of Dora in the past tense, and I detest it._

 _I don't know much of anything at this point, but I know we're going to hold her funeral in the forest behind the house...she always loved it there, there's a clearing with peonies that blooms every Spring, and she would always come back with a small bouquet every year._

 _I hope you attend...she was quite fond of you, and I know she would have wanted you to come._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Xenophilius Lovegood._


	12. Loss and Triumph

**Happy Friday! At least it is for another like twenty minutes.**

 **It's amazing to me that there's one more chapter after this before we get to Part II, which is going to be horridly long. I hope you shall all stick around to witness the rest of the story unfold ;)**

 **I got some intense feelings writing about Caelum when he was fifteen years old, it was definitely interesting to say the least, that however is not for a whiiiile yet.**

 **I was very sad writing bits of this chapter, and I warn you...Dumblerage may be invoked upon reading this chapter.**

 **Please leave a review and let me know what you think ;)**

 **My tumblr: indiebluecrown. tumblr. com**

 **Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling, and only the story line and any OC's belong to me.**

 **For Sable and Paula xxx how I love you both!**

* * *

It was a miserable day. It was gloomy, wet, foggy. It reflected his emotions perfectly.

Remus sighed softly as he looked out of the window, thinking how the weather must have known that today was a grave day, since the sun had been out, brightly shining the previous day.

Regulus hadn't taken Caelum to school on the day that they had learned of Pandora's passing, and the young Black had yet to go back. It was a unanimous, silent agreement that perhaps it was time to begin schooling Caelum at home, and for the past week Kreacher had been the young boy's companion whilst Regulus and Sirius picked up the broken pieces of Remus and attempted to put him back together again.

Remus glanced over his shoulder to where Sirius was sprawled out across their Queen sized bed, lying on his front, his head was turned in the opposite direction, his hair half covering his face. The cream sheets were covering Sirius's bottom half, which of course was stark naked since Sirius often liked to sleep without clothes.

Remus looked back out into the forest, his hazel eyes sadly watching as the tree branches swayed and twisted in the wind. _Today is not going to be easy,_ Remus thought.

It was a miserable day.

* * *

The forest is damp, and the moss squelched beneath their shoes as they trekked towards the clearing where three wix were waiting for them. Remus can hear water droplets falling from leaves, he can hear the wind whistling, and he hears Xenophilius's heart wrenching sobs before he sees him.

Regulus is holding Caelum's hand tightly, leading the way, Kreacher hot on his heels, grumbling about wet forests and rainy days. Remus is slowly falling behind. As soon as he steps into that clearing, he knows that this will be _real._ Not hearing about it in a letter or even talking about it, but actually seeing her casket being buried into the ground.

Sirius slowed down with Remus, and easily intertwined his fingers with Remus's. Remus offered him a weak smile, because he isn't capable of anything more than that. His throat is tight, and his airway feels constricted.

Xenophilius was standing behind Luna, his hands on her shoulders, his own shaking violently with the force of his sorrow, his hair is limp, there are dark smudges under his puffy eyes that are red from crying, and he's wearing formal black robes.

Remus had never seen Xenophilius wear anything black in his life. Luna was staring blankly at the ground in between her feet, but there were tear streaks on her cheeks and her eyes were glistening with more unshed tears.

The third person in the clearing that was awaiting them was a Ministry official that had come to officiate the ceremony. The lady was tall, slim, with birdlike features and thin lips. Her skinny fingers looked like with the slightest force they would break. Remus hid his flinch when she smiled what he supposed she thought was warmly at them, but it frankly reminded him of a vulture before it swooped down to feast upon the carcass of its' prey.

Their greetings were brief, Xenophilius managed a watery smile before he pulled Remus in for a bone crushing hug. The other wizard was clutching at him desperately as if by some miracle it would bring his wife back to him.

Caelum had the situation explained to him, but none of them had been able to ascertain if he quite understood fully what they meant when they said Pandora had passed away. However the young, raven haired boy immediately went to Luna's side and he grasped her hand in his.

"Horrible day. Wretched day." Sirius whispered to Xenophilius when he gave the man a quick embrace, when he pulled away he squeezed the pale haired man's shoulder.

Regulus merely stood on the other side of Xenophilius, and placed a comforting hand on his other shoulder. The thought struck Remus then, that Regulus had done this, he had been through the death of his wife, of the Mother of his child. Regulus's eyes were shiny, and a single tear ran down his cheek.

Remus was snapped out his daze when the bird lady started talking. He found he didn't like her voice either. It was too high, and it made his brain and insides of his ears itch.

Remus sniffed loudly as she opened up a small notebook, retrieving her wand from her black, pant suit pocket and she waved it neatly at the cherry wood casket that was in the middle of the small group. A bouquet of peonies and hydrangeas appeared towards the top, and Remus almost smiled at the gesture. Pandora would have loved them.

"We are gathered here on this sad day to mourn the loss of a beloved wife, mother and friend. Pandora Lovegood." At the mention of her name, Xenophilius's weeping kicked back up again, and Remus saw Regulus silently put an arm around his shoulders.

"She was full of life, love and wonder. She saw the best in people and she shall be missed," the bird lady said, smoothing back her mousey brown hair that was tightly pulled back into a low, small bun. The words were nice, but coming from here they almost didn't sound genuine. She said a few more things before Remus tuned her out, she was tainting his memory and he didn't want to her anymore syllables fall from her lips. It wasn't her fault, but she hadn't known Pandora. The breath of fresh air that she was, the love and care that she gave to everyone she met. How gentle and kind her soul was.

"Does anyone wish to say anything before she is buried?" the ministry lady asked gently, and the only sound that met her question was Xenophilius's broken sobs. Remus cleared his throat, reaching for Sirius's hand, revelling in its' warmth as he choked out, "I would."

"Yes, dear. Go ahead," the bird lady smiled softly. Remus thought it would be rude and extremely indelicate to tell her to bugger off, but every time she opened her mouth it only made him want to tell her more and more.

"Pandora was...she was my friend. I've never been much good at making friends, rubbish really. Yet for some reason she decided to befriend me. She was a free spirit, she _cared,_ she loved, she experimented and sought out solutions to questions-"

As he was speaking he heard a sharp crack in the distance, he wasn't sure if the others heard it, but then he heard soft footfalls and he knew that someone was joining them. He smelt the lemon and lavender before he even stepped out into the clearing. Remus ground his teeth together, burying his anger and picking up where he left off.

"Pandora was always there when I needed her and over the past few years she has become not only a dear friend...but she became a part of my family. The world will be a duller, darker place without her in it." Remus swallowed, hard, as he finished, and it was then that he noticed he was digging his fingers into Sirius's hand, but the animagus didn't utter a peep or show any discomfort; that however did not stop Remus from immediately loosening his grip.

It was silent as the smell of the new arrival got stronger, clogging his nostrils, and Remus involuntarily let out a small snarl. Thankfully no one heard it, but as he turned to Sirius, he guessed his eyes were amber and gold since his lover's eyes widened, but he knew that Sirius could smell _him_ too.

The Ministry lady used her wand to displace a mountain of earth, and then to lower Pandora's casket into the hole. Remus felt the hot tears now rushing down his face before he could stop them. _Remus_ , he swore he could still hear Pandora's light voice in his ears, but in reality the sound of the dirt hitting the casket as the lady returned the earth from whence it came, was all he was really hearing.

Remus glanced at Regulus and nodded, he narrowed his eyes at the silver haired man that Remus knew was standing behind him, but he merely led Xenophilius away from his wife's burial spot, Luna, Caelum and Kreacher trailing behind them. The House Elf fussing at the two children.

Remus tore his eyes away from the bird lady as she enlarged a tombstone from her pocket and floated it gently down to the ground before firmly securing it in the earth.

 _Here lies Pandora Helen Lovegood._

 _Beloved Wife_

 _Caring Mother_

 _Kind Friend_

 _May 6th, 1960 - March 2nd, 1988_

"What do you want, Dumbledore?" Remus snapped out harshly, letting go of Sirius's hand and whirling around on the older wizard quickly. He took a menacing step forward, his chest almost brushing against Dumbledore's, his face inches away from his, and he had a thought to claw out the pale blue eyes that were regarding him calmly, hating the twinkle in the older man's eyes.

"I merely came to offer my condolences...I am not your enemy, my boy," Dumbledore said softly, "nor am I yours, Sirius."

Sirius snorted.

There it was again, _my boy_ , the very sound of it simply made Remus's anger boil and bubble up in his gut.

"I am not your fucking boy."

It would occur to him later that the Ministry lady would have witnessed the entire exchange, but after she turned around and saw how angry Remus was, she disapparated on the spot, sadness and grief was part of her job...angry wizards? Not as much.

"Now, Remus. I can help you-"

"I don't want your help," Remus growled lowly, "I asked for your help to get Harry back, and all you said was that he was _safe_. He isn't _safe._ He's living with abusive muggles-"

"You can't know that-"

Looking back, that was the comment that made him snap. All he saw was red, and his grief and pain really did not help, he felt Dumbledore's soft silk, royal purple robes beneath his fingers, and the next thing he knew he was flat on his back.

"There's no need for all that, now is there?" Dumbledore said. Remus groaned, feeling the damp earth soaking through his black robes, there were spots dancing in front of his eyes, but he did manage to see Sirius standing protectively over him, wand drawn on Dumbledore, whose wand was also out.

"You are a real _prick_ for showing up here. Showing up on today of all days. I suggest you fucking leave before I hex you with everything I've got. I may not be able to beat you, but you've really pissed me off, and an angry Black is never a good thing," Sirius spat. Dumbledore refrained from saying anything else, he simply lowered his wand, and quickly said, "I meant it...about offering my help Remus-" before he turned on his heel and disapparated.

* * *

"We won." Sirius said, flabbergasted.

"We did," Remus responded, grasping Sirius's cheeks and kissing him soundly on the lips.

The paps of course loved it, neither man even noticed the bright flashes that were going off. Regulus merely rolled his eyes at the entire display, his attention split in three directions: firstly on Caelum, because his son was always on his mind in some form or fashion, secondly on how he needed to pay an old... _associate_ a visit and finally on the fact that they had just won custody of one Harry James Potter.

 _It was one of the most talked about events in years, witches and wizards alike were discussing it over tea, during their work breaks, when they saw each other at Diagon Alley. It was all anyone was talking about, and the residents of Black Cottage made sure not to go out into the public in the week before the hearing._

 _Kreacher was sent to do all the errands, which he preened and found great joy in, ever happy to serve the Ancient and Noble house of Black._

 _They were all wound tighter than a clock the night before, barely getting a wink of sleep. Regulus pulled Caelum into his bed and protectively held his son as he attempted to sleep, but instead he found himself listening to his son's soft breathing and reminiscing about a brilliant woman with frost blue hair, remembering her all those years ago, when he had first met her._

 _They arrived at the Ministry as soon as the doors opened to the public for official business hours, leaving Caelum in Kreacher's capable hands. They all suspected that Dumbledore may have switched the time of the hearing, he was getting desperate to ensure that they didn't get Harry; which in fact did. Bright and early, first thing._

 _Dumbledore had also dragged the three men through the mud and the muck. Chucking dirt at them in a sneaky, cunning way to ensure that he remained the 'sweet, lovable, old man'. Remus was a Werewolf, and because of the strict regulations it would be difficult for him to find work. Which Ollivander himself-of his own volition-went to the Prophet and told them that Remus was his employee and he made a fine day's wages. He was a hardworking and warm man, and that he would be a great role model for Mister Potter._

 _Regulus of course was who was the man they found in the Thames with **his** House ring on their finger, not to mention that he was an Ex-Death Eater. Regulus appraised the man who interviewed him silently before saying nonchalantly, "really. I find a dead body on the battlefield during the War and fake my own death, and everyone's got their knickers in a twist. He was another Death Eater, Nicholas Spatt. He was a twat, and he didn't deserve to die how he did, but his body was charred enough that no one would think to question if it was really me or not._

 _Regulus had grinned then, leaning forward and saying, "I think it's rather hypocritical for Albus Dumbledore to be condemning a reformed Death Eater...don't you? Of course I won't go into the finer details, but I think you can figure that part out for yourself...yes?" Regulus nodded at the man as if he was slow and he needed things to be broken down for him into small, bite sized pieces._

 _Sirius for the most part remained unscathed, anything that could have been said about him in the media already had been._

 _All three men were anxious, as they waited to hear the verdict. It had been a long, arduous hearing. Much longer than necessary, and Dumbledore kept going on about how it would be better for everyone if Harry was away from the Wizarding World until he was ready._

 _The tides tipped in their favour when Sirius stood up, fed up of hearing Dumbledore's rubbish and simply said, "he is my Godson. Lily and James Potter wished that if anything was to happen to them, that I would be the one to take care of their boy. **Our** boy. That boy is one of the only people I have left in the World, he is my hope, and he's all that's left of my **best** mate and one of my dearest friends. He deserves to be with his **true** family, not the muggles who despise what we are. Despise us just because we are different from they are. Despise us for simply be witches and wizards. Petunia Dursley nee Evans was estranged from her sister for years, wanting nothing to do with her. Things aren't as black and white and **some** people would like you to think they are-" Sirius paused and shot a loaded look in Dumbledore's direction._

 _"-Harry belong with us, we may not be his blood relatives, but we would protect him with our lives, and some magical bonds are stronger than blood. Remus and I have a familial bond with him, we are his **family**. We will raise him with love and care, as if he is our own, we will tell him about his parents and teach him what we can. Most of all...we will love him." Sirius gave a curt nod to Fudge before he sat down. Exhaling deeply once he did._

 _Not even twenty minutes later, Cornelius Fudge, hit his gavel on his sound block before saying, "Missrs Regulus Black, Remus Lupin and Sirius Black...you now have sole custody of Harry James Potter. You may collect him from his muggle relatives as soon as you see fit."_

* * *

It was dark. Not that he'd expected the place to be decorated in pink and covered in glitter, but he didn't expect it to be so gloomy and grim either.

 _Then again I should remember who I'm dealing with,_ Regulus thought wryly, poking about with the items on the dark-stained wooden desk. Stacks of paper were neatly pushed to the left side-student's assignments and papers, a few ink bottles were to the top right, a line of quills below them. It was clean, neat, tidy. Devoid of anything personal. The large bookshelves on the right hand side of the office were filled to the brim with various tomes and texts. Organised alphabetically by Author from what he could tell.

"Now what in Salazar's name are you doing in my office, Black?" The cold voice came from the door, he hadn't even heard it open. Regulus flicked his wand and lit the torches that lined the left side of the room. Tucking his wand back into his robes before he took a seat at the desk, leaning back casually in the comfy black, leather armchair.

"Is that anyway to treat an old friend?"

"I wasn't under the impression that we were friends. I much preferred you when you were _dead,_ " the other man said coolly.

"Come now, Severus. Don't be like that."


	13. Reunion

**Hello hello all! :D**

 **This chapter marks the end of Part One, I know it may seem quite sudden, but I knew what I wanted to do and how I wanted to do it.**

 **I went to go and finish off this chapter and saw that I had already written most of it, which was a pleasant surprise for sure. Quite a bit happens, and I am very happy with this chapter! So I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.**

 **I had considered having the Ministry allow for a floo connection to be set up in the Dursleys fireplace when I think back on it, but that really wouldn't be as fun I don't think. You'll see why soon enough.**

 **Oh! Before I forget, a couple things, I am soon finished It Was Her Ginger Hair, so if anyone wantef to read that then they are welcome to :p also I started a time travel Remione and it is a good deal of fun if I do say so myself! ;)**

 **Thank you all so much for your amazing support and I hope you'll continue to review and read etc in the future *hearts* I really appreciate it all!**

 **The song bit at the end (it'll make sense soon) was written by me with the inspiration being the intro/ theme song to Outlander. The Sky Boat song if I recall correctly is it's exact name. I have it stuck in my head all the time.**

 **My tumblr: indiebluecrown. tumblr. com**

 **Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling, and only the story line and any OC's belong to me.**

 **For Sable xxx**

* * *

 _Previously…_

 _"Is that anyway to treat an old friend?"_

 _"I wasn't under the impression that we were friends. I much preferred you when you were_ _dead," the other man said coolly._

 _"Come now, Severus. Don't be like that."_

 **Present**

"You didn't answer my question, what are you doing in my office, Black?" Severus repeated.

"I came to find out where your allegiances lie, so I'll know in the future," Regulus smiled wryly.

"That's not why you're here," Severus snorted, an icy edge to his voice that sliced through the air.

"No...it's not," Regulus grimaced, "I need you to help me with something."

"Why would I help you? I don't see what I could possibly gain from assisting you," Severus responded, leaning back in his chair, his eyes narrowing to slits.

After a few moments Regulus begrudgingly said, "you help me with this, and I'll owe you a favour in the future."

Severus seemed to be in silent contemplation, rolling the idea around in his mind before he gave a curt nod and said, "how may I be of assistance?"

* * *

It was a normal day at Privet Drive, with its' square houses and neatly trimmed hedges, and perfectly normal people. Nothing strange or out of sorts.

Except of course the three striking young men who strode down the sidewalk as though they owned it. One dressed in black leather pants, black, leather lace up boots that were undone at the top, and a black white t-shirt. Another dressed in a nice, emerald, long-sleeved shirt that went wonderfully with his eyes, a pair of black slacks and a nice pair of black shoes. The final one was the more oddly dressed out of the three. Especially given how warm the day was. He was wearing black slacks, a button down black waistcoat over a long sleeved white dress shirt, an emerald coat clasped around his throat and flowing out behind him.

What was most surprising was _where_ the gentlemen were heading-to the most normal house there was arguably in their neighbourhood. Number Four Privet Drive.

The men rounded the corner, and stood primly outside the door, the tallest one with sandy blonde hair, extended his hand and knocked once, twice, thrice. Looking at his companions when there was no response after a minute or so.

"Do I knock again?" He asked the other two men, one of them looked extremely irritated, taking a strange piece of wood out of his pocket.

"Step aside," he aimed his, well, _stick_ at the lock, and gestured at the door moments later.

"Thanks, dear brother of mine," the final man said, grinning broadly, turning the doorknob and stepping inside.

If any of the neighbours of the residents of Number Four Privet had seen that part, they most certainly did not believe their eyes. The three men, one by one entered the house and the door closed back with a soft click.

* * *

"Well, hello Petunia," Sirius said as he saw the sister of one of his best mates. The sister that had scorned her own flesh and blood for being a witch.

Petunia was standing there in shock, holding the landline loosely in her hand, almost tripping over the cord as she hurriedly excused herself from her conversation with the other person and slammed the phone back down into its holder.

"What. Are. _You_. People. Doing. In. My. Home!" Petunia hissed, "how did-" Petunia shook her head, and Sirius marvelled at how long her neck was. Lily had definitely lucked out with just enough neck for her body he thought absently.

"We've come for Harry," Remus said calmly.

"No. No!" Petunia screamed like a petulant child whose toy was being wrenched from her grasp. "Where were you seven years ago? Why didn't you come for the boy then?"

"Things were complicated, but until a few days ago, I didn't have the right to come and claim custody of Harry. Which I have, and trust me, I'm not leaving without my boy," Sirius said firmly, standing up a little straighter, certainly looking imposing despite the smile lines by his eyes, instead his face was all hard lines as he glared at her harshly.

"Aunt Petunia," Sirius heard a young boy's voice behind him, and his heart skipped a beat.

"Not now, boy!" Petunia spoke to the boy in a stern tone.

"Who are they?" The boy asked curiously. Sirius couldn't bring himself to turn around, not yet, if he did he was sure to wake up and for this to all be a dream.

"No one-"

"We're your family, Harry," Sirius heard Remus say, "well not by blood at least, though I'm fairly certain we created a familial bond when you were born since we had one with your parents. They were pack though of course as well-"

It was then that Sirius turned around, and he was confused to see why Remus had stopped talking until he saw the deep frown on Harry's face.

He was like he had forgotten to breathe-he'd seen him from afar whilst spying on the house in the past few years, but this was different. He hadn't been prepared for just _how_ similar he looked to James.

"Bond?" Harry asked, perplexed.

"Well I suppose he doesn't know that kind of magic yet, Lupin. Not many eight year olds do, even the ones that are raised with magic. They normally learn about that kind of thing around nine, ten," Regulus said, looking at Remus, tucking his wand back into his pocket as he did. Harry's brow creased further when Regulus said magic, but didn't comment.

"Harry," Sirius said softly.

"I'm sorry, did you know my parents?" Harry asked, head tilted to the side. Sirius stepped forward until he was right in front of Harry, which is when he bent down, kneeling in front of him, looking into his face.

"T-They were two of my best mates, especially your Father," Sirius said, almost choking on his words, this was real and Harry was really in front of him, after all this time. "I'm your Godfather, Harry. I'm really sorry I couldn't come for you till now, but one day I'll tell you all about it okay?"

Harry's eyes were wide and he nodded slowly, "I have one question."

"Yes, anything," Sirius said, afraid to touch him since for Harry he was a complete stranger, someone entirely new that he didn't know anything about.

"How did I get my scar?"

"Black! DON'T YOU DARE!" Petunia yelled, just then a rather chubby boy burst into the living room, with little to no neck and blonde hair that lay flat on his head. "Dudley come to Mummy."

"Surely he takes after your horrible husband, can't recall his name, only that he's a thick bloke with a rather red face," Sirius grimaced as Dudley trotted by him, and he saw out of the corner of his eye how Harry flinched when Dudley got too close. Sirius wasn't sure he wanted to know exactly the reason behind that flinch, or he might end up in Azkaban for the murder of muggles for real this time, except it wouldn't be twelve, it would only be two. Though he highly doubted anyone would miss Petunia or her puce faced husband.

"How dare you?" Petunia gasped, pulling her son into her side when he reached her.

"Why is he dressed so funny?" Dudley asked, rudely pointing a meaty finger at Regulus.

"Tell your child to stop pointing before I give him a pig's tail to match the rest of him," Regulus said coldly, sneering at Dudley, who immediately shrank back. Unused to being spoken to in such a manner.

When Sirius turned back to Harry, he noticed that he was smiling brightly, and it tweaked his heart momentarily since he looked so much like James. Right down to his smile. Except of course his eyes. Bright green like Lily's, even though they were hidden behind dirty glasses lenses with scotch tape wrapped thickly around the nose piece.

"Didn't they tell you about how your parents died Harry?"

"Well they said they died in a car crash...but…" Harry drifted off.

"Oh no," Regulus sighed, one hand to his forehead.

"A car crash!" Remus exclaimed, "Lily and James died in a car crash?" Sirius turned around in time to see Remus's eyes flashing amber and gold, glaring at Petunia. "What other lies have you told him? Does he even know he's a wizard?"

"A what?" Harry asked, mouth agape.

"A wizard," Sirius repeated, "do you want me to show you a spot of magic?" Sirius whispered so only Harry could hear him, winking at the boy.

Harry nodded eagerly, and Sirius pulled his wand out of his back pocket, and decided to go for something simple.

"This will most likely be one of the first spells they teach you in school," Sirius grinned, " _Wingardium Leviosa,"_ swishing and flicking his wand as he focused on a small lamp on a table a little ways away. Harry's mouth dropped in shock and he turned towards Sirius once again, speechless.

"I'll fix those glasses of yours in a jiffy. I think first, we ought to get out of this horrid place, don't you?" Sirius asked, gently putting the lamp down and putting his wand back from whence it came.

"Why don't you grab your things and we can be on our way," Sirius said.

"I don't have many things, or clothes…" Harry said softly, averting his eyes.

"I'm sure that you have a few things," Sirius urged, surprised when the boy reached for his hand.

"I think this is a dream," Harry said, "but I'll show you anyways, it can't hurt I suppose." Sirius got up and let the boy lead him further into the house, Remus, Petunia and Regulus's voices getting a bit more heated.

"It simply has to be a dream, because I've wished for years that someone would come take me away from the Dursleys, and now they have," Harry continued, "it's too good to be true."

Harry stopped in front of a cupboard under the stairs and Sirius thought maybe Harry hadn't understood what he meant, until the boy opened the door and he saw the cot wedged inside it.

"This is your room, Harry?" Sirius asked gently, Harry nodded, climbing onto the cot and turning to face some of the shelves, searching for what he might want.

"Harry why don't you gather everything together, I need to talk to your Aunt for a moment," Sirius said, Harry turned towards him, frowning, but after a moment he nodded. "I'll be right back I swear, I won't be gone too long."

Sirius kept the smile on his face, but inside he was livid. Sirius stormed back into the living room, in one swift movement he waved his wand, throwing up a silencing charm. He didn't want Harry to hear this.

"A _fucking_ cupboard Petunia!" Sirius snarled. The woman in question hurriedly covered her son's ears, looking aghast at his profanity.

"Pardon?" Remus asked, "love, what do you mean a cupboard," Sirius saw Remus's brows knitted together and at any other moment he would've kissed it away, but now he had other concerns.

"Petunia and her fat arse of a husband have had Harry living in a fucking cupboard his whole life. That's his room, a cupboard under the stairs!"

"What?" Remus's eyes bulged slightly, angrily turning on Petunia as well.

"Alright you two," Regulus said, trying to be the voice of reason, "we need to be careful here."

"You can't hurt us, I know you have laws which prevent you from doing so!" Petunia sniffed loudly.

"There are other ways to hurt people besides physically my dear," Regulus sighed, "I can go inside that pudgy little boys head and show him terrors that you couldn't image even in your wildest dreams," Regulus bit, voice as cold as ice.

"You dare threaten my son-"

"Which is nothing compared to the abuse you've inflicted upon my family,' Regulus stated calmly. "I haven't actually done anything. However, you have neglected our boy, one example being that he lives in a cupboard, a cupboard...would you like to live in a cupboard? Should I show you what it's like?"

"I didn't ask for him, he was dropped on our bloody doorstep with a _note_ of all things," Petunia retorted, sneering at them all.

"That was the work of someone who whilst he had good intentions, made a _grave_ error in judgment," Remus said, fists clenched.

"Dursley...let me make this perfectly clear, you've treated my godson as less than human practically...which I will not forget, and I will not forgive," Sirius said in an indifferent tone. Before Remus and Regulus could say anything he shifted. Petunia let out a shrill scream when the large black dog stalked towards them, teeth bared. Dudley had begun to wail, a bit obnoxiously Sirius thought.

"Brother, don't play with them," Regulus rolled his eyes.

Sirius waited another moment before shifting back, shaking his head at the sobbing muggles in front of him. "What? Scaring them a little is nowhere near what they deserve," Sirius said lowly as he passed by his brother and lover.

Sirius headed back into the hallway, and saw Harry waiting, "got all your things?" He took down the silencing charms and Sirius's grin only got bigger when Petunia and Dudley's cries could be heard in the hallway.

Harry had a small knapsack, that looked terribly empty, but Sirius tried not to think about that too much.

"Ready?" Sirius asked, holding his hand out to Harry.

Harry paused, "this is real isn't it?"

"It is Harry," Sirius promised.

Harry reached out and grabbed ahold of Sirius's larger hand.

"We have someone we need to introduce you to when we get home," Sirius said as they left the house.

"Who?"

"My son," Regulus smiled gently, "now are we going to apparate or find another way home?"

"Apparition is the only way since there isn't a fireplace connected to the floo network for miles, not to mention we didn't bring our brooms," Sirius said with pursed lips.

" _You_ didn't bring _your_ broom," Regulus smirked, reaching into his robes and withdrawing a tiny broomstick, he waved his wand and it slowly enlarged before their eyes. "I brought mine."

"What are you doing with a broom?" Harry asked curiously, his half empty knapsack now securely on both of his shoulders, and a small frown on his face.

"Well, you fly on it of course," Regulus smiled gently.

"It's a rather long journey by broomstick, Reg," Sirius sighed.

"If you wish to apparate then fine, but I can just fly to the nearest fireplace connected to the network and floo home."

"He does make a fair point, Sirius."

Sirius glared at Remus for taking Regulus's side-even if he knew it was only reasonable-before kneeling beside Harry, "I'll see you soon son, Regulus, my brother is going to fly you to the nearest floo and then he'll be bringing you home."

"Why can't you take me?" Harry asked, starting to panic, his smaller hand desperately grabbing onto Sirius's shirt.

"I'm going to go ahead and ready your room. I'm not going anywhere Harry, I'm never going to leave you again."

"Even when I'm going to the potty?" Harry asked a bit sceptically, his mouth twisting to the side slightly.

Sirius couldn't help the laugh that barked out of his mouth, bubbling up from his gut.

"You can go to the bathroom alone, mate," Sirius smirked, he grasped the boy's shoulders gently but firmly and said, "we'll be together again before you know it."

Harry, finally placated after their small talk nodded hesitantly, but walked towards Regulus. The younger Black had already retrieved his broom, and was patiently awaiting the young boy.

With a swift movement, Regulus cast a disillusionment charm, pulled Harry onto the broom in front of him and then kicked off of the ground. Harry let out a surprised squeal, but his face was soon glowing with unadulterated joy.

 _He's born to be on a broom, just like his Father_ , Sirius thought happily, with the twinge of sorrow that always seemed to linger where James was involved.

"See you back at the cottage," Regulus winked before leaning forward-protectively cradling Harry-and soaring off.

"Between Kreacher, Regulus and you, they'll be spoiled rotten by the time they're off to Hogwarts," Remus breathed out deeply through his nostrils, the corners of his lips turned upwards.

"I suppose you're referring to Caelum," Sirius grinned.

"You know exactly who I'm referring to, Mister I gave my nephew a broom for Christmas," Remus laughed dryly.

Sirius felt a warmth filling him, tingling and coursing through his body, building and fleeing to his appendages with nowhere to go. He turned to Remus and he pulled his wizard to him a bit gruffly, roughly kissing him and drinking in his sweet taste.

"We got him back," Sirius murmured against Remus's lips after he pulled away, their breath mingling.

"We did," Remus said breathlessly.

"C'mon...let's go home," Sirius smiled.

"Let's go home," Remus agreed.

The two wizards intertwined their fingers, facing each other, and they closed their eyes. Breathing in sync. A familiar sucking feeling building in their gut, twisting and squirming, and then they vanished. An violent crack cutting through the air.

* * *

In a vastly different place, possibly as different from Privet Drive as it could get, a small girl was swinging slowly back and forth on her swingset. The bright yellow rubber seat contrasting greatly with her pale skin.

A sad hum was buzzing from her throat, her lips gently pressed together. Her lips parted and she began to sing. A song she had once sung with her Mother.

"Once there was a lass, and now she is gone, no finer a lass than she. Sing me a song, fellow, sing me a song about she. She was kind and mellow, and ne'er a lass was prettier than she. Sing me a song now, sing me a song, of a lass that is gone," the blonde girl sang. Her voice was light and airy, it drew you in and made you think of home, yet there was a touch of sadness, and a touch of grief to it.

The girl swung back and forth on her yellow swing and hummed a sad tune, and started out at the forest with her silvery blue eyes. In one arm-held tight-was a stuffy her Mum had made her.

"Sing me a song, of a lass that is gone…"

* * *

 **End of Part 1**


	14. Hogwarts Bound

**Hello my dears!**

 **I have school starting back, and I've kind of decided to go on a writing hiatus for a little bit. I've been writing so much lately it's insane. Plus I am really behind on my reading. There's so much reading. So much.**

 **I hope you've all been well, and that you enjoy this chapter, there's been another major time skip, and I have been going back and forth about how the first few years of Part II are going to be written. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.**

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 **Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling, and only the story line and any OC's belong to me.**

 **For Sable xxx my lovely, lovely friend.**

* * *

 _ **Part Two (II)**_

* * *

It was a bright morning, a morning full of promise and new beginnings. Outside the seasons were turning and the vibrant red, yellow and orange leaves were fluttering in the gentle breeze.

Inside the small cottage, most of its occupants were asleep aside from one, a man with cropped short raven hair, and a thoughtful expression on his face as he stared out of the window in the living room. Bearing witness to the early morning, and thinking how today, everything was going to change.

In the distance he heard soft noises from behind him and knew from experience that Kreacher was readying the house and would soon go to wake the boys.

If Kreacher had seen him then he would have paused to greet him, but Regulus was hidden in the shadows of the dim morning.

He turned back towards the window and breathed in deeply. Yes, he could feel it moving through the air; change.

Kreacher waved his hand and the boy's bedroom clicked open, he slowly pushed open the door, the hinge creaking.

It was a cosy room, which would have been unkempt had Kreacher not put everything in its place every night. Two single beds on either side of the room. Two desks on either side as well. One covered in Quidditch magazines, books on all different kinds of magical plants and fauna, and a pile of Quidditch gear was lying beside it. A broom was propped up against the wall.

The other desk was neatly arranged with maps of stars and Potions tomes, and there was a heap of Quidditch gear beside their desk as well.

A small navy blue circular rug was set in the middle of the two beds.

One of the boys was sleeping on his back, arms resting on top of his covers, soft snores whistling from his nostrils.

The other boy was sprawled on his front, arms over his head, the blankets tied around his limbs, his messy hair in his eyes.

Kreacher walked over to the latter boy and said loudly and excitedly, "wake up Master Potter! It's your first day at Hogwarts today!"

The boy merely groaned loudly and waved one of his hands at Kreacher. "Uhhhh."

Kreacher crossed his arms over his chest, shaking his head, the slighty saggy skin under his chin shook with it, he was getting along in years, which saddened Regulus deeply. Kreacher snapped his fingers, and watched with smug satisfaction as Harry's sheets flew off of him, and folded neatly on the bottom of his bed; in the process, Harry had to be untangled, so he had been flopped onto his back.

"Kreacher!" Harry moaned, rubbing at his eyes.

"Musn't be late now, Master Harry. You need to check that you have everything packed, I don't trust that Master Sirius went through and properly checked your trunk with you last night," Kreacher nodded curtly, waving his hand, and Harry's trunk top popped up, falling back partially on his bed.

Harry groaned once again as Kreacher snapped his fingers and removed Harry's sheets entirely.

"Fine," Harry mumbled, "I'm getting up, and don't worry, I packed everything yesterday. Plus Cae and I checked again last night before we went to bed," Harry said as he sat up, back curved with the weight of sleep and gravity.

"Very well, Master Potter," Kreacher said, peering into the trunk nonetheless and making a mental checklist.

It didn't take long after that, it was a blur of motion and movement. Excitement was radiating throughout the house, crackling and sizzling in the air. The crunch of blueberry jam covered toast being bitten into, apple juice being shared around, scrambled eggs, and bacon. Breakfast was an elaborate affair.

Before they knew it, they were all hurrying out of the house, Kreacher standing on the armchair's arm by the window and tearfully waving goodbye as they all apparated away. The crack that always came with apparition was terribly violent this time, snapping and slicing through the air. They disappeared in a whirlwind of fallen orange, red and yellow leaves. Harry Potter was off to Hogwarts.

* * *

Harry had been in public many a time over the last few years, and even though people didn't approach him anymore to touch The Boy Who Lived-shake his hand, clap him on the shoulder, ruffle his hair-excited chatter still kicked up amongst the nosy busybodies that were on the platform that morning. Regulus had once turned a man into a toad for a few minutes when he kept harassing Harry, which had made Caelum and Harry laugh but also worry over the poor man. Giving into their pleading, Regulus had swiftly turned the man back-the plump little man had looked rather traumatised-Regulus was satisfied since the bloke had scuttled off, face a puce colour, clutching his cane and fixing his robes as he fled.

They weren't five feet from the entrance to the platform when Regulus spotted a group of bright ginger haired people not too far off; he knew that Remus and Sirius were friendly with the Weasleys, so he elbowed his brother, who currently had a protective hold on Harry's shoulder. The older Black furrowed his brow to see what Regulus wanted. Sirius followed Regulus's trail of sight and saw the Weasleys; Sirius reached out to touch the small of Remus's back. As soon as the werewolf saw the gingers his entire face lit up. Then Remus was leading the way, and he was the first to greet the Weasleys.

"Molly!" Remus exclaimed, smiling warmly.

"Remus! How are you my dear?" Molly asked, eyes widening and pulling the tall man into a hug before he could protest or say anything to the contrary.

"From what I hear, this is only part of your family isn't it, Molly?" Sirius asked as he stepped forward to greet the pleasant witch.

"Yes, the eldest that is still at Hogwarts, Percy, is on the train already-" Molly paused as she turned in Sirius's arms, before she spotted what she was searching for, and pointed to two tall boys that were hurrying off to the train, "-that would be my twins, Fred and George."

Harry had stepped forward and was smiling shyly at the ginger boy that looked his age, he looked friendly enough, and Harry liked to think he was good at making friends since he had played with so many of them in the Muggle park when Sirius and Remus took Caelum and himself out.

"Hi, I'm Harry, Harry Potter," Harry said, extending his hand.

The boy's eyes widened a fraction, but he grinned broadly and clasped Harry's hand firmly, shaking it in greeting, "Ron Weasley."

Regulus noticed that Molly had reacted in much the same way as Ron, and she was beaming at Harry. Molly moved to grab her youngest child's shoulders, planting a quick kiss on the crown of her head, "this is my youngest, and my only girl, Ginevra."

"It's Ginny, Mum!" Ginny complained petulantly, frowning deeply, puckering her small mouth, putting her hands on her hips defiantly.

Molly swiftly ignored Ginny's protests, and she spotted Caelum, partially hiding behind Regulus's robes and she smiled warmly at him, "this must be your son, Caelum."

"Yes, he'll be off to Hogwarts next year," Regulus smiled proudly, pulling Caelum into his side, Caelum fisted the back of his robes and held on tight.

"Ah, so will Ginny!" Molly exclaimed, and she was about to say something else when the train whistled, indicating that it would be leaving soon.

"You boys best go and get on the train," Sirius said to Harry and Ron, bending down next to Harry and whispering in his ear. Harry's eyes widened but he nodded firmly, quickly hugging Sirius and Remus, and then Regulus raised an eyebrow when he turned to him. Unprepared when Harry flung himself at Regulus and Caelum. Regulus couldn't help the short laugh that escaped his lips.

"Promise you'll write," Caelum asked Harry, and the older boy smirked.

"Course Cae, I'll write all the time, can't promise that they won't be rubbish, but I'll write all the same," Harry said, ruffling Caelum's hair before returning to his trolley.

Regulus watched as Harry and Ron pushed their trolleys towards the train, and as they disappeared inside, and all of the parents and loved ones watched as their children left. The train whistling and letting out puffs of white smoke.

 _Yes,_ Regulus told himself, _things are definitely changing_.

* * *

Molly had insisted they come back to the Burrow for a spot of tea. The house was quite empty with just her and Ginny-Arthur was busying at work, there was an old witch who lived in Surrey that had been trying to sell floating teacups to Muggles at a little stall in front of her house. She had managed to keep the flames inside the sitting room until Arthur and the other Ministry officials from the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office, as well as an Oblivator, had arrived on the scene.

Ginny had grabbed Caelum's wrist as soon as they had gotten inside and had dragged him behind her up the slightly creaky stairs, announcing boldly that they were going to go play in her room.

"I am sorry about all that mess in Diagon Alley a few years ago...I acted rashly and you deserved an explanation-"

"Remus Lupin-" Molly pursed her lips as she moved back into the living room, carrying a wooden tray that had four empty teacups, a pumpkin coloured stout teapot and a small container of milk and a small bowl-that would fit in the palm of his hand-was filled to the brim with sugar cubes.

"Yes Molly?"

"You have nothing to apologise for...matter of fact I should be thanking you...it's a dreadful, dreadful and terrifying thought that- _that_ man was in our house for so long," Molly shuddered as she carefully put the tray down on the coffee table in front of the couch. Across from the couch was her rocking chair and a pile of various coloured and sized yarn balls, and several different sized knitting needles. A wide wicker basket was beside the yarn, and an assortment of other things was inside-needles, thread, a crochet hook.

One cup of tea turned into two, two blended into three, three blurred into four, four ended with lunch, and before they knew it they had spent all day at the Burrow. So long in fact that Arthur had come home-exhausted, haggard, rubbing the stress from his temples and the fatigue from his eyes-and they had all sat down for dinner together. (When Molly had prepared the food he had no idea, especially since she had spent so much time entertaining them.)

Regulus had almost forgotten what it was like to have a meal with people that weren't the boys or Sirius and Remus. Of course they ate out sometimes-mainly in Muggle London to avoid being mobbed-but eating with Molly, Arthur and Ginny was vastly different. Arthur cut the meat and passed the plates down to Molly, who would ask each person what they did or didn't want and would pile the sides onto the plate. Then Regulus figured out half-way through the meal what it truly was that had been nagging him at the back of his mind-right as he watched Molly instinctually wipe some gravy off of the corner of Ginny's mouth despite her scowling afterwards-it was a woman's touch. A mother more specifically, but they had all been devoid of any sort of proper female interaction for years.

Regulus sucked a deep breath in through his nostrils as Arthur asked Caelum what house did he think Harry was going to be in. His mind however was barely registering the conversation surrounding him. He was far, far away. Lost in a memory of _her._ Salazar he _missed_ her. She'd been there and then she hadn't, and the worst part is he hadn't even had a body to bury. She was the only person he had truly been able to speak to freely, about all the deepest, darkest corners and jagged edges of his soul.

Regulus tuned back in with a tight chest in time to hear, "no, no, you boys stay the night. We don't mind. Really we insist."

Regulus didn't know why, but before he could think about it too much he responded with, "thank you, we would really appreciate that Molly, Arthur."

Regulus chose to sleep on the couch as opposed to one of Molly's teenage boy's bedrooms. The Burrow had different noises than the cottage did. His window at home in his room creaked, the floorboards on the stairs landing groaned under any pressure here. There weren't as many trees, there was a massive pond out in the backyard, and rolling hills and pleasant meadows surrounding the Burrow. Nothing like the forest and the trees rustling in the night breeze that he was used to.

He dreamt of her. He always dreamt of her. Part of him still clung to the possibility that one day she would appear in front of him again, smiling-lips twisted to the side, eyes sparkling and frost blue hair framing her face like it had when they first met.

* * *

"WHAT?!" A violent outburst jolted Regulus out of his slumber, groggily he fumbled for his wand, and peered at everyone through slitted eyes-the warm quilt he had used last night tangled around his legs. Everyone was still in their sleepwear, and he relaxed when he didn't see any immediate threats. Arthur had an arm around Molly, thumb rubbing up and down on her upper arm, eyes scanning the piece of parchment held contemptuously in her hands. Sirius was lying on the ground in the middle of the living room, Ginny sitting sideways on top of his chest facing him as they conversed, and Regulus swore he heard, "Moony owes me a galleon, little Red."

The werewolf in question was leaning against the wall at the end of the couch, appearing to be staring pensively at Regulus, but he knew that Remus had drifted off into space, and that he was lost in his chaotic thoughts; he probably hadn't even registered that Regulus had moved.

A small body hurtled toward him, and Regulus couldn't do anything but catch his son as he flung himself into Regulus's chest.

"What happened?" Regulus mumbled out, rubbing a tired hand down his face, stopping to rub the sleep out of his eyes.

Caelum was the one who told him then, pulling back and grinning brightly at Regulus, "Harry, Ron and some girl called Hermoninny all got sorted into Slytherin!"


	15. Slytherin? Slytherin!

**HELLO MY DEARS! Have you missed me? I've missed you.**

 **So I've had some time to write, and the muse was co-operating which is why I have a chapter for you all today :D**

 **The reactions about the Golden Trio being sorted into Slytherin were just fucking amazing. (Yes Sable my love, I'm looking at you.) All of your reviews make me so happy. They really do.**

 **This chapter basically explains how it all happened and I had way too much fun with this. I know I didn't list all forty people that were in Harry's year that got sorted. Everyone that wasn't listed was sorted into the houses they were sorted into in canon.**

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* * *

 **Flashback**

 **Sunday, September 1st, 1991**

 **Hogwarts Express**

"Excuse me, I don't mean to bother you...but have either of you seen a toad?"

Harry looked up and saw a girl with honey brown, wild, bushy curls with bright brown eyes and pursed lips. She had slid open their compartment door enough to push her head in, her fingers holding the edge of the door.

"No, sorry, not in here," Harry answered with a small smile. Ron and him had been having a merry conversation and sharing a ton of sweets, in fact-at that very moment, a chocolate frog sprang from its container onto their compartment window.

"Wait. You're Harry Potter! Aren't you? I read all about you!" The girl gasped, and she pushed the door open further, inviting herself in and sitting on the edge of the seat beside Ron, shooting him a tiny smile before turning her attention back on Harry.

"Yea," Harry responded sheepishly, unconsciously shaking his head so that his bangs covered his forehead. Uncles Pads, Moony and Regulus told him this would happen. No matter how many times it happened when they went into the public when he was growing up, he didn't think he was ever going to get used to it.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Hermione Granger," Hermione introduced herself cheerily, folding her hands over each other in her lap, tilting her head to the right slightly, "oh, how rude, and who are you?" Hermione directed this question at Ron.

"Ron Weasley," Ron smiled gently.

"I'm so glad I got to meet two more people before the sorting ceremony today. I've only met Neville so far-he's a nice blond boy, I'm sure you'll meet him soon."

"I'm a little nervous about the sorting ceremony," Hermione continued, chewing on her bottom lip nervously.

"My brothers told me you have to go through a bunch of rigorous tests, but I don't believe it. It's mental is what it is," Ron piped up, shuddering as he recalled what his older brothers had told him, tales of fighting magical creatures and travelling through impossible mazes.

Hermione frowned deeply but she didn't comment on Ron's statement, instead she changed the topic slightly, "what houses do you both want to be in? I think Ravenclaw sounds brilliant."

"Any house is better than Slytherin, I got told that there hasn't been a evil wizard that wasn't in Slytherin," Ron said loudly, crossing his arms over his chest.

"That's preposterous, saying that an entire house is evil," Hermione scoffed.

"I have to agree with her," Harry grimaced when Ron narrowed his eyes at him. "Seriously, my Uncle was in Slytherin, and he's one of the best people I know. Plus my Grandmother was in Slytherin. Dorea Potter. Uncle Pads says she was one of the most brilliant people to ever walk this earth."

"Does that mean you want to be in Slytherin then?" Hermione asked curiously, leaning forward a touch.

"Dunno, I want to go wherever I'd be suited best," Harry shrugged cavalierly, reaching up and scratching the side of his nose absently.

Ron was quiet for a moment and then said softly, "everyone in my family had been a Gryffindor."

Hermione's features softened, shifting so that she was facing him fully and she asked gently, "do you think you'll be like them then? A Gryffindor."

"It's what everyone expects of me," Ron's brow knitted together tightly, and he caught his bottom lip under his top one, his front teeth digging into the soft flesh as he thought about it. The look in his eyes spoke volumes, he had never considered what _he_ wanted before, not really, not like that.

"It's awfully boring to do what everyone expects in my opinion," Hermione said a bit haughtily.

"Alright, then where do you want to be sorted?" Ron shot back, eyes ablaze and his cheeks pinking.

"Each house has it's own wonderful set of attributes, I think I'll be sorted wherever I'm best suited," Hermione smiled.

"That didn't really answer my question," Ron frowned.

"That was the point," Hermione grinned, hopping up, "now I've got a toad to look for. I'll see you both around sometime." Just as quickly as she had come, she had gone. Shutting the door after her softly, and Harry watched her through the glass panel on the compartment door until she disappeared out of sight.

"She's an odd one," Ron said, blue eyes glued to the door.

"I like her. She's a bit of a...know-it-all, but I like her," Harry smiled.

The rest of their ride they talked about their childhood and Quidditch. Ron's older brothers had all played Quidditch for the Gryffindor team, and his twin brothers-Fred and George-were currently Beaters. As night fell, Harry couldn't help but feel like exciting things were just around the corner. Hogwarts was going to be amazing, he just knew it.

* * *

" _Hannah Abott_!"

Harry wasn't paying nearly as much attention as he probably should have. People were whispering and watching him, he could feel hundreds of eyes pressing in on him, and it certainly didn't help that he was tightly packed together with all of the other first years that had yet to be sorted. Most of whom were nervously shifting from foot to foot or wringing their hands together.

He had stayed in the middle when they were all gathered in the Entrance Hall and when Professor McGonagall had given her speech and explained what was about to happen. He could have sworn her eyes lingered on him and that there had been a sad note in her eyes, but he dismissed it swiftly. Thankfully no one had recognised him, and they were too distracted when Neville had lost his grip on his recently found toad and it had hopped right in front of McGonagall's feet.

"HUFFLEPUFF!" The hat bellowed for everyone in the Great Hall to hear, and a roar of cheering came from the table on the far left of the Great Hall.

" _Terry Boot_!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

" _Lavender Brown_!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

" _Seamus Finnigan_!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Harry zoned out for most of the other names until he saw Hermione anxiously head up onto the platform and sit on the stool, her knuckles turning white as she gripped the edges of the stool.

The hat seemed to deliberate for quite a long time, and Hermione's brow was puckered severely. You could hear a pin drop in the overwhelming silence that followed the hat's announcement, "SLYTHERIN!"

No one knew what to do, or how to react. A Muggleborn being sorted into Slytherin was practically unheard of. Harry met the eye of the Headmaster, until that moment he had seemed cheery and entirely at ease-Harry had felt his eyes on him-but there was something dark in his eye now, despite that the fact that his facial expression was as calm as it had been moments ago.

Hermione hopped off the stool, and McGonagall gently touched her elbow and gestured towards the Slytherin table. Hermione held her head high as she began walking down the few short stairs over to the table on the far right side of the Great Hall. When a single clap started somewhere at the back of the Slytherin table. It was one of the older boys, and he stood up and wolf whistled. A few of his housemates looked at him strangely, but one by one, they all joined in. Clapping loudly and cheering ecstatically.

By the time Hermione sat down at the end of the table at the front next to one of the older girls, she was smiling proudly.

 _Or perhaps in Slytherin. You'll make your real friends,_ Harry mulled the words over in his mind. How the Slytherins had welcomed Hermione only reinforced the notion in his head that Slytherins looked after their own.

The other names flew by after that.

"Daphne Greengrass-"

"-SLYTHERIN!"

" _Neville Longbottom_ -"

"-GRYFFINDOR!"

" _Draco Malfoy_ -"

"-SLYTHERIN!"

" _Theodore Nott_ -"

"SLYTHERIN!"

" _Pansy Parkinson-_ "

Harry's heart skipped a beat, how did they get to P so quickly, he blinked rapidly as he noticed that the number of students around him had thinned out considerably, which funnily enough did _not_ make it any easier to breathe.

"-SLYTHERIN!"

Their loud cheers as a proud looking girl with dead straight, dark chocolate brown locks headed towards the Slytherin table as if she was born to be there-died quickly when _his_ name rang out clear as day from McGonagall's mouth as she read it off her scroll of names.

" _Harry Potter_!"

Palms slick with sweat, legs feeling like they are made of lead, breathing quick and frantic through his nostril as he moves through the remaining students to the front. McGonagall is looking at him and this time there is no doubt that she is solely focused on him. She gave him a tiny smile, and he almost thought he had imagined it because as soon as he blinked it was gone. His hands are shaking as he turned around and pushed himself up onto the stool. Now everyone is _definitely_ staring at him.

McGonagall carefully placed the sorting hat on his head, and its weathered fabric is softer than he thought it would be.

" _Ah. Mister Potter, I was wondering when I would see you. It seems almost like yesterday that I was sorting your parents and all their friends._ "

" _Well I'm here,_ " Harry thought dumbly, he wasn't entirely sure how else to respond to the hat's statement.

" _Hmmm curious, most curious indeed. I would have thought that you would want to be in Gryffindor, but it seems as if you have a strong inclination towards Slytherin. However, your mind is not made up. You would do well in Slytherin. You could do great things. Be GREAT_."

Harry flinched from how loud the sorting hat's voice boomed through his head, it had a deep but soothing voice. When it yelled like that however it sounded like rolling thunder.

" _What if I don't want to be great, what if I just want to be Harry?_ "

" _Cunning, ambition, looking after their own. That's what Slytherin folk are. There was once a boy that had a dream of being the best Wandmaker ever...that was Garrick Ollivander's ancestor you see. Ambition is not always a bad thing._ "

" _Why did you think I was going to ask for Gryffindor_?" Harry wondered internally, and the hat was silent for a moment.

" _You are very similar to your Father and Mother, Harry Potter. Brave, kind. Though I sense that part of you craves more from life, you don't want to just be the Boy Who Lived...you don't just want to follow the path that most people expect from you. You want to be_ _ **more**_ _...which is why I think it's best to put you where we are both thinking._ "

" _Okay. If you think it best._ "

"SLYTHERIN!"

If Harry thought the silence after Hermione had been overwhelming, his was deafening. It was utterly quiet, and he smoothly slipped off of the stool as McGonagall received the hat from his head, he glanced at it, and it's scrunched up face was impassive and it too was silent. A small gasp came from Hagrid's lips then, and Harry looked over his shoulder at the Half-Giant who was sitting at the Teacher's table. The same man that had bought him Hedwig for his birthday that year, having visited Black Cottage for their small family celebration. He was the only other person who had come, Uncle Moony had whispered with Uncle Sirius about someone called Lovegood, but in the end they hadn't showed up and so Harry hadn't given it another thought.

Hagrid caught his eye and instead of being upset, he merely smiled encouragingly at him. Filled with that bit of confidence he turned back to his new housemates. His eyes found Hermione's and she was grinning wildly, she stood and began to clap boisterously, which made Harry grin like a madman.

Then the Slytherin table erupted into rambunctious cheers and whoops. The rest of the school jumped in surprise, the initial shock still lingering-it was rare to see the Slytherin students collectively so outwardly passionate, unabashedly showcasing their mirth unless it was at Quidditch games.

Harry felt like he was high in the sky, amongst the clouds and stars. The stars that Cae always liked to show him late at night through his telescope. A burst of happiness exploded in his chest, spreading through his veins like fiendfyre and he didn't even feel the ground as he walked over to the Slytherin table. Hermione scooted over and made room next to her, on Harry's other side was the boy he recognised as Theodore Nott, who gave him a small smile and introduced himself politely.

" _Ron Weasley!_ " Harry heard Ron's name and he gently elbowed Hermione, who was also eagerly watching, though he could tell that she thought Ron was simply going to be in Gryffindor like all his brothers had been.

Ron's ginger hair was a stark contrast against the hat, and then the deliberation began, it wasn't nearly as long as Neville's or Hermione's had been-both of them were hat-stalls-nor was it as long as Harry's. Ron looked determined, scrunching up his freckled nose in concentration as he internally battled with the Sorting Hat. Until finally. In a single, resounding shout, the hat said, "SLYTHERIN!"

Unlike Harry or Hermione, there was a loud protesting shout from two ginger haired boys at the Gryffindor table, "WHAT?" They both yelled simultaneously.

Ron gulped nervously and sent them both an apologetic look, which seemed to silence his brothers for the time being, they were both flabbergasted, looking at each other in utter shock. Another ginger haired boy towards the back of the Great Hall instead gave Ron a comforting smile, Harry recognised him as Percy, the Gryffindor fifth year prefect-Ron's older brother.

"I guess he did what no one would expect," Hermione said next to Harry, her tone filled with wonder and curiousity.

"The three of you really stirred things up, you know," Theo whispered in Harry's ear before scooting to the right to make room as Ron squeezed in on Hermione's other side.

There were still cheers coming from the Slytherins as they welcomed Ron.

"How's that?"

" _Blaise Zabini_!" Theo was slightly distracted as he watched the last boy get sorted, his ice blue eyes trained on the dark skinned boy with thick and luscious dark curls, but he responded nonetheless.

"A Muggleborn, Harry Potter and a Weasley all being sorted into Slytherin? At the same time? You'd sooner think that Salazar Slytherin was going to walk into the Great Hall and take back control of the school."

Harry laughed softly as the hat shouted for the final time that evening, " _SLYTHERIN!"_

* * *

Harry breathed in the night air deeply. Hermione, Ron and himself had hurried to the Owlery after dinner-they had quickly stopped by their Common Room in the dungeons and changed out of their robes into their home clothes.

They all wanted to deliver letters to their families, and Harry had to give Hedwig three extra treats to deliver Ron and Hermione's letters as well-neither of them had an Owl and had suggested they used the school's but Harry had insisted.

"Good girl, Hedwig. I'll see you soon, okay girl?" Harry murmured to the snowy owl, gently stroking her soft feathers. She pecked his hand affectionately before jumping off of Harry's arm and sailing away into the night.

Until Hagrid had given Harry Hedwig, he was just going to use Storm-Caelum's falcon-but he was somewhat glad he didn't have to. He liked Storm well enough, but he wouldn't have been happy to deliver multiple letters in one trip.

"Do you think my parents are going to freak out?" Ron asked nervously then, shoving his hands into his trouser pockets.

"If they do then we'll be here for you. Promise," Hermione smiled gently, tucking her arm through Ron's, and then turning and doing the same to Harry. "We're friends aren't we?"

Ron's eyes widened but then a wide smile broke out across his face. "Yea, we're friends."

"Agreed. We're definitely friends," Harry grinned happily.

"Right, we best get back, or we're going to break curfew," Hermione said matter-of-factly.

Ron shook his head but didn't say anything.

 _Yes._ Harry thought to himself as they headed down the winding staircase that wove around the inside of the tower up to the Owlery. _We're friends._


	16. Five Years Later

**My dears!**

 **I've been battling with this for a while-how I was going to move forward with this story that is. I wasn't sure what kind of format I wanted to use, and I finally came to a concrete conclusion yesterday.**

 **Now, the story is going to jump between past and present for a while, until we reach the present. So you can see all of the important things that happened to the Golden trio, Draco, Theo, Blaise, Luna, Caelum, Ginny and others since that first night after the trio was sorted into Slytherin. Basically, because in Fall Through Time I started from when they were in first year, and worked through all of the years (currently at their fifth) I knew how tedious it could be, and I didn't want to do that again.**

 **Basically each chapter will have present things, and also bits and pieces from the past starting from their first year and moving forward.**

 **Thank you for all your reviews and support, and I really do hope you enjoy how I've chosen to write the story from here on out.**

 **Please leave a review and let me know what you think ;)**

 **My tumblr: indiebluecrown. tumblr. com**

 **Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling, and only the story line and any OC's belong to me.**

* * *

"Molly, breathe. It's not that big a deal," Sirius said from his place on the floor, reaching up to tickle Ginny's sides. The young girl giggled and tried to push him away playfully.

Molly was still holding the letter in her hands contemptuously, cheeks bright pink, and currently shooting Sirius a dirty glare.

"That's easy for you to say! Slytherin is-"

"Careful what you say, Molly," Regulus purred, hugging his son, ruffling his hair and grinning at Caelum-who shot a dazzling smile his Father's way, still dressed in his pyjamas that he had borrowed.

"Oh. Regulus. You, you know what I mean...the _others_ ," Molly said in a flustered tone, working herself up into a bother as she gestured wildly at the air.

"No. Molly, I don't understand what you mean," Regulus said in a firm tone. "Now, if you want to have any semblance of a decent relationship with your son, you shall write to him _and_ his older brothers, and tell him that you are proud of him and you love him no matter what house he is in."

"He's right, as someone who was sorted in a different house from the rest of my family...he's probably worried and terribly afraid of how you'll react. You are also much better parents than mine ever were...don't make the same mistake they did, Molly, Arthur, I implore you to think of _Ron_ in this situation.

Not how you feel about Slytherins, or how it's not what you expected. It's where he was sorted, and Harry is there with him. He'll be grand, just wait and see. He's still the same boy you sent off at Platform Nine and Three Quarters yesterday," Sirius said seriously, sitting up and gathering Ginny in his lap. She fiddled with the ends of his hair, her brow furrowed as she listened to every word he said.

"Please Mum, Ronnie's still the same boy who got his hair dyed pink by the twins a couple weeks ago," Ginny snorted. "Who cares what house he's in? He's still a dork."

Sirius guffawed at that, face alight with joy, and shook his head, "I like you, Little Red."

"It's just... _Slytherin_?" Molly blew out a heavy sigh.

"It's how the pieces fell, Molly. Now you just have to decide how to deal with it," Remus said, voicing his opinion for the first time that morning-or at least that Regulus had heard.

 _Yes, how this plays out will certainly be interesting to say the least,_ Regulus thought, _it really is in the air, change._

What Regulus didn't know at that moment, was just how much change lay ahead of them.

* * *

 **Five Years Later**

 **Friday, December 8th, 1995**

 **Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry**

 **Dungeons**

Harsh footfalls slam across the stone corridor as three adolescents furiously sprint down it.

The feeble morning light that was trickling in on higher floors didn't reach them down here, so they had to make due with brightly lit, elaborate lamps whose light cast a greenish hue on everything it touched.

The three boys were still dressed in their various nightwear.

The boy leading the charge was a raven haired boy-his hair was truly unruly, a messy mop on his head-with round, black wire-rimmed glasses, a white lightning scar on his forehead, bright green eyes. He was fairly tall, with a gangly build, as if he was now growing into his frame. He was barefoot, wearing black cotton pyjama bottoms and a plain navy blue t-shirt. There was a Cloak held in his hand along with his wand.

The tallest of the boys that was at the rear had a shock of ginger hair that was cropped fairly close to his scalp, vibrant blue eyes, a spackling of freckles across his skin. Even though he was fairly lithe, he was covered in lean muscle. He had on a pair of thin, black bed slippers, and thick, woollen, black and red plaid pants, and his chest was bare; which wasn't the best choice considering how cold the draft was that whistled down the corridors.

The second tallest boy, in the middle had a bunch of thick, dark curls on his head, ice blue eyes, a sharp jawline, a slender nose, and he had a similar body type to that of the ginger. He is wearing a long-sleeved white jumper and emerald green pyjama bottoms and he has black socks on.

The three boys are snickering as they run, and it only increased when they heard, "you gits! You _prats_! You're going to pay for this!"

The three boys saw an alcove ahead and quickly ducked into it, the raven haired boy pulling his Invisibility Cloak over all three of the crouching boys.

They immediately stifled their laughter and the ginger haired boy non-verbally threw up silencing charms.

Then a flash of bright red and radiant gold sprang past the mouth of the alcove, and it was all the boys could do to shove their laughter down.

Last night, Harry, Ron and Theo had worked together to slip a harmless potion into Draco and Blaise's drinks-all it was meant to do was dye their skin red and change their hair gold.

It was a tricky bit of Potioneering on Theo's part to make the potion do two different things, but after some trial and error (and _several_ tests on Harry and Ron) he made it work.

At least he thought it did, until nothing had happened last night.

However, that morning, Draco woke up and let out a shrill scream that woke up the entire fifth year boy's dormitories.

Harry, Ron and Theo were able to gather their wits about them enough to know when to flee from the scene of the crime.

It was retaliation for the hiccoughing jinx that Draco and Blaise had cast on them that lasted for five days straight; it had been utter torture.

Of course that was for dragging Draco and Blaise out onto the Quidditch Pitch at the beginning of the year, wrapping them up in warm, thick, woollen blankets...that was wrapped around the hoops, high up in the air.

It was an official prank war amongst their year, and even the girls were in on it. Pansy put a semi-permanent sticking charm on a pair of her stilettos before securing them tightly on Blaise's feet.

Then, as if Merlin himself was on their side, who should appear? None other than their _beloved_ House Head. One Severus Snape.

"Mister Malfoy, Mister Zabini. I don't care they did...they shall be dealt with _according_ , what bothers me is that you are both running around, exposing yourself indecently and bringing shame to _my_ house."

They then heard Blaise's smooth, velvety voice, "I could never bring shame to anyone with this body."

"Zabini." The icy warning was evidently clear in Snape's voice, and a shiver ran down the three hidden boys spines-they knew that one never wanted to be on the end of that cold voice, because nothing good ever followed.

" _Ow!_ " The three boys heard, and once more broad grins spread across their faces. They heard the sound of three pairs of footsteps moving away and getting fainter. When they couldn't hear anything anymore, they cautiously walked out of the alcove, and were then ambushed.

Harry-the raven haired boy-yelped as a warm body leapt onto his back, and all he saw was red limbs. "Fix us, Potter!" Harry immediately recognised the voice as Draco's, and he struggled to be rid of him. He caught a glance in his peripherals of Ron and Theo circling around Zabini, with all of their wands out.

From the feel of bare skin and a quick look to make sure, Harry ascertained that Draco and Blaise were both only clad in their boxers, however Blaise had on socks.

A few minutes later, all five of the boys were standing in a circle, panting, bent-double.

"Neat spellwork, made us think that Snape was here," Ron huffed, pale face now bright red from exertion.

"Oh, Mister Weasley...but I am," Snape then rounded the corner, and all five of the boys froze. All of the boys straightened up instantly.

"Shit," Theo muttered under his breath.

"Five points for swearing in the presence of a teacher," Severus drawled lazily, then he appraised them all carefully. "Twenty points for indecent exposure in the hallways."

Snape then narrowed his eyes, and looked directly at Harry, "this your handiwork Potter, Nott, Weasley?"

"Yessir," the three boys responded hastily.

"Fifty points to Slytherin for excellent Potions and or Charms work, next time try to put a little more effort into your actual classes as you do all of this nonsense," Snape said impassively. He shot them one more warning look, and then turned on his heel to walk the other way, his black robes billowing gracefully out behind him.

"For fuck's sake, he couldn't even give you wankers detention?" Blaise groaned. "Oi! Fix me back to my beautiful self or I'll hex your balls when you're sleeping...you don't want the kind of rash I've cooked up down there."

Ron sighed, shaking his head with a radiant grin, "fine. Antidote is back in the dorms, let's head back."

Draco half-heartedly tried to push Harry off when he swung an arm around his shoulders.

"Do you think Crabbe and Goyle woke up during the commotion?" Theo wondered aloud as they began to meander back to the Slytherin Dungeons.

"Those two knuckleheads? Nah. They're probably still dreaming of treacle tart," Ron mused, lacing his fingers behind his head as he walked.

"You sure you're not talking bout yourself there, Ronald?" Draco snorted. "You were mumbling in your sleep about pumpkin pie and Pansy."

"Sod off, I wasn't dreaming about Pansy," Ron rolled his eyes, but the very, tippy top of his ears were pink.

"Love how you didn't deny the pumpkin pie," Harry chuckled, pulling a face at Ron, who shot him a mocking one back.

"Speaking of girls, that reminds me, you taking Hermione to Hogsmeade today?" Blaise directed this question at Theo, who simply nodded before saying, "well she's my girl, and I know she wants to go to Tomes and Scrolls."

Ron and Harry shared a quick look. The two boys had discussed it briefly at one point, but they knew their best mate and Theo were extremely happy, and that they really liked each other...but they also knew that Draco and Hermione had undeniable Chemistry, and they had a running bet on when they would finally get together.

For now Draco and Hermione were platonically friends and nothing more. Plus Draco had blown his chance to ask Hermione to the Yule Ball last year. So Theo hadn't wasted the opportunity, and after that night the pair began dating.

"Oh, you guys still coming to mine for Christmas? Uncle Regulus wants to confirm. There's more than enough room now that we're officially all living in Potter Manor," Harry said.

"We practically live there when we can, mate. Course we're coming," Blaise piped up, running a hand through his-currently-gold curls.

"I concur," Theo said.

"Definitely, plus it means that Caelum can show me those charts he left at home," Draco said pensively.

"I'll be between mine and yours, like usual," Ron grinned.

"I wasn't asking you, Ron," Harry laughed. "That was a given."

"Is your Mum cooking, Ron? If she is, I am so down for some Christmas Dinner at the Burrow," Blaise said dreamily, "your Mum's cooking is the fucking best. If Ginny could cook even half as well, then you know who your future brother-in-law is."

"Prick," Ron laughed.

The boys finally reached the Common Room entrance, and Harry said, "Felix Felicis." Snape tended to use Potions as the password these days, and it was often a hint for his NEWT students about what to read up on and prep for their future classes.

When they got inside, Hermione was curled up by the fireplace on the far side of the room, the greenish glow from the lake cast across her skin. Her wild curls were pulled into a messy, high ponytail. Theo nodded to them before crossing the Common Room and heading over to his witch. Hermione glanced up and an easy smile spread across her face. She stood up, Theo settled into the armchair and then she sat in his lap, her legs thrown over the chair's arm.

Otherwise the Common Room was pretty empty aside from a few early morning people. The other fifth year Slytherins were exhausted, and Ron had an antidote to give two of their friends.

Harry was about to join his other mates, when a flash of ginger hair ran past him, "Ginny?"

"Can't talk, Harry! I'm late! I told Luna and Caelum that I would meet them out in the Forest!" Ginny yelled over her shoulder.  
"The forest?" Harry called out after her.

"Tell you later!"

The the door to the Common Room slid to the side, allowing the witch to flee, and within the blink of an eye she was gone.

Harry shook his head with a smile, she really was something that Ginevra Weasley.

Harry closed his eyes, and smiled. The sorting hat had been right, he had found his _true_ friends. That isn't to say he didn't have plenty of other friends from different houses, but he can't imagine what his life would be like if he wasn't a snake.

For a split moment he wondered if trouble wouldn't have found him time and time again if he was a Gryffindor, but something told him that that was most definitely not the case. Trouble clung to him like an infant suckling at its Mother's breast. It was around every corner and every bend.

 _I guess we'll just have to see if this year is going to be peaceful, or if all hell is going to break loose,_ _ **again**_ , Harry mused, breathing out heavily. He trudged his way back to his dorm, it was still ridiculously early, and he was going to go back to sleep.

As soon as Harry's head hit his pillow he was knocked out, and he would have loved to have nice dreams, but his dreams were plagued with _him_ , as they were every night. Plagued with the horrible atrocities that _he_ committed, and he was writhing around in _his_ head. Seeing as he saw. Harry Potter did not sleep well for the rest of the morning, he did not sleep well at all.


	17. First Year

**HELLO HELLO.**

 **I'm terrible, I'm the worst. Seriously I'm so sorry that it's taken me so long to update. I just didn't have the words, no matter how many times I tried to finish off this chapter. I don't have a proper excuse, just my sincerest apologies.**

 **Either way I hope you enjoy it and thank you all so much for your patience *hearts*.**

 **Please leave a review and let me know what you think ;)**

 **My tumblr: indiebluecrown. tumblr. com**

 **Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling, and only the story line and any OC's belong to me.**

 **For Sable xxx**

* * *

 **Thursday, December 26th, 1991**

 **Boxing Day**

 **Black Cottage**

 _Loud_. That's the first thing that comes to mind as Caelum sits amongst Harry's new friends—it's deafening really.

Caelum subtlety studied them whilst they weren't paying attention, all too caught up in some inside joke.

First there was the dark skinned boy with black, wavy hair and the whitest smile Caelum has ever seen. The corners of his mouth always twitched upwards right before he spoke, and his voice had a velvety quality to it that made him sound a lot more grown up than he was.

It took Caelum a few moments this recall the boy's name, but it shortly surged to the surface—Blaise. Blaise Zabini.

Caelum had been quiet for the most part so far, far too caught up in trying to learn about Harry's newfound friends. They'd all been welcoming—smiling at him when he entered the room and as Harry introduced everyone.

Hermione Granger. She's kind of bossy, but not in an annoying way. There's a unique warmth that enveloped her that eased his conscience and made him feel comfortable around her. Her two front teeth are a touch too big for her mouth, and her hair is this wild, bushy and curly mess the likes he's never seen before—but it somehow makes her even more endearing.

Hermione'd pinched the back of Ron's hand thrice up until this point, all whilst smiling; which is when Caleum decided that it would be in his best interest to never upset her.

Theodore Nott. They all call him Theo though, and Blaise had teasingly called him Teddy a few minutes prior.

He's fairly quiet; perhaps he too was studying everything—calculating and processing it all thoroughly in his head before he spoke aloud or voiced any of his thoughts. His ice blue eyes had only met Caelum's once for form is morning, they swam with something Caelum couldn't place.

Draco. The fact that they are in the same room _and_ that it is a pleasant affair is perhaps the strangest thing about the blond boy's presence.

Uncle Sirius had errantly thrown out a comment on the boy's Father—Lucius, after finding out that Harry was friends with the young Malfoy; ' _Lucius Malfoy is a fancy part with a iron rod shoved so far up his arse he always has a metallic taste at the back of his throat. Not to mention his deplorable attitude that puts the worst men to shame.'_

His Dad hadn't hesitated to swiftly smack his Uncle across the back of his head whilst telling him to at least try to behave. Uncle Padfoot's response was a roaring laugh and a secret wink sent in Caelum's direction.

Draco didn't fit the mold that Caelum's mind had poured him into. He was _funny_ , almost pompous, but Caleum could see that there was more to him than the spoiled rich kid he liked to portray himself to be on the surface. Draco's grey eyes—much like his own—shone with intelligence and passion, and his pale hair the colour of snow was currently slicked back.

Pansy. Sharp tongue, dark brown eyes and dead straight, black hair. She kept complaining to Draco about _absolutely nothing_ , whilst simultaneously making it seem like the most important thing in the world. _How_ she did it was still a mystery that Caelum was trying to unravel. He didn't miss the look in her eyes though, she was constantly examining everyone and everything, the naive and petty mask that she wore was simply that, a mask.

Ron. Ronald Bilius Weasley. Caelum had heard more than he had ever wanted to about Ron from Ginny—including that he had a weird birthmark in the shape of a wonky sword on his arse; he had also been one of the more frequent names in Harry's letters (alongside Hermione).

Even though Ron's parents hadn't been keen on him being in Slytherin, they had slowly warmed to the idea, and Ron was currently wearing an emerald green jumper his Mother had knitted him for Christmas with a white 'R' across it.

Ron isn't afraid to voice his opinions, and he's a tad hot headed, but, he's been a good friend to Harry from what Caelum had heard, and there's just something about the boy that Caelum likes.

There was supposed to be another girl coming today, Daphne Greengrass, but her sister had suddenly taken very ill last night, so she was unable to make it. He briefly let his mind drift in wonderance of what she was like, before his attention was grabbed by a loud outburst from the kitchen—it sounded like Uncle Sirius had discovered the Firewhisky.

 _It's been awhile since we've been in this house,_ Caelum thought errantly. Despite the length of time that had passed, it felt like just yesterday that they had spent their last official night here.

Kreacher had apparated Harry into Potter Manor last year, and assisted the young boy with opening a floo connection to Black Cottage. Over the past year they had spent more time tidying up the Manor—which had been in pristine condition, completely preserved, and if not for the thick layers of dust, Caelum would have fully expected someone to round the corner at any given moment to greet them.

Just after Harry left for Hogwarts, they officially moved the rest of their things there, and Caelum's Father had already begun putting up new security measures.

Currently there was a direct floo connection from the Cottage to the Manor, however, it could only be opened from the Manor side.

Dad maintained the Fidelus Charm on Black Cottage, and had also placed one on Potter Manor until they could find time during the Winter Holidays upon Harry's return, so they could properly change and adjust the blood wards.

His thoughts moved as if floating along a gentle breeze, and he found himself back in the present—the enthusiastic conversation pumping into his ears, and his grey eyes immediately focused on Harry. The boy with the lightning scar was on Caelum's left, biting into a mince pie with a small smile.

Caelum had missed Harry immeasurably in their time apart, he'd missed his brother in every aspect aside from blood (well, if you wanted to get technical, Harry was his distant cousin, but that was beside the point).

The house was significantly quieter without Harry around to play with, to go flying in their backyard, to practice small spells in their shared room alone late at night—without wands of course, it had been extremely difficult, but they had managed an Alohomora by the end of it.

The absence of familiar sounds was made only more apart with how swiftly they had departed; the sound of Harry's laugh, or his groggy mumblings as he woke up. All sounds Caelum had taken for granted before the other boy had left.

A broad grin spread across Caelum's face, and then he heard his name come from his right. He swivelled his head to find the source and saw Pansy looking at him earnestly. "What about you, what's your favourite Quidditch team?" It was then that he felt it, deep in his chest, a warmth that spread like fiendfyre outwards until it heated every part of his body, from his toes to his fingertips, even including the soft flesh of his earlobes. They may be loud, but he liked them.

"Puddlemere United of course," Caelum said a smirk, and he couldn't help the small laugh that erupted from his lips at the reaction of the other children. Ron groaned loudly, talking about how none of them appreciated quality when they saw it—which of course set Draco off, resulting in Theo playing referee between the two. Caelum glanced left and he met Harry's bright green eyes; they shared a secret look, and it only affirmed what he already knew— Harry's friends were good people. Caelum liked them, he liked them a lot.

* * *

 **Wednesday, February 19th, 1992**

 **Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry**

It was a quiet evening in the Dungeons. Well, with the exception of course with a small scuffle just around the corner from the Slytherin Common Room.

"Filthy little Mudblood!" The boy with the puce coloured face spat into Hermione's face right before he shoved her roughly.

"Think you're so smart—"

Hermione never heard what the boy's rat-like companion had to say because his feet slipped out from under him and his face smashed into the stone faster than she could blink.

"What's happening?" The other boy asked, the trepidation trembling in his voice masked by red hot rage. Hermione narrowed her eyes and subtlety withdrew her wand. She didn't get a chance to enact revenge before a voice calmly said, " _Stupefy,_ " and a burst of red light surged out of nowhere and smacked into the boy.

Hermione's eyes widened when she saw the source of the spell.

"Theo? A _Stupefy_? That's fairly advanced," Hermione hummed, impressed.

Icy blue eyes sparked with amusement as the boy shrugged. "More importantly, where's my thanks, Granger?" Theo murmured when he reached her, just an umph taller than her.

Hermione smirked, "thank you, Theo."

"That's more like it," Theo grinned. "You know what? To show me _just_ how thankful you are, you can help me with the mountain of Potions homework that we have."

Hermione rolled her eyes, reaching up to brush a stray, dark curl out of his eyes, "fine. I'll _help_ , but I won't do all of it for you."

"What do you take me for? Weasley?" Theo scoffed.

Hermione smiled at that comment and shook her head, "you're right, he's far more fun."

Theo's jaw dropped until he saw the teasing glint in her eyes, "that's not fair, Granger."

"Life isn't fair, Theodore. Now you coming or you going to stand out here all day?" With that, she turned on her heel, her hair whipping around after her, and the corners of Theo's lips twitched upwards—Hermione Granger certainly was one hell of a witch.

* * *

 ** **Friday, June 5th, 1992****

 **Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry**

 **Headmaster's Office**

"First it was a troll, and now this? _**The**_ Philosopher's stone? Then to top it off _fucking Voldemort_ was on the back of the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher's head for the entire year and you didn't do anything about it?" Sirius asked loudly, the vein on the side of his neck had popped out and was pulsing with every quick beat of his heart.

"You are working under the mistaken impression that I knew about Professor Quirrell," Dumbledore answered softly.

"Please Dumbledore, don't insult our intelligence. I would _hope_ that you know about everything that happens on the school grounds. Especially about _who_ you hire," Regulus said evenly and in a low voice, however there was a harshness to his tone that was only emphasised by the cold look in his eyes.

"I am not trying to insult _anyone's_ intelligence," Dumbledore sighed, one of his hands moving to hold his face, a haunted look strewn across his features. "I _didn't_ know. I'd always feared that he wasn't gone, especially when they hadn't found a body...but I don't know how this happened. I have no idea how he ended up on the back of Quirrell's head."

Remus, Sirius and Regulus all shared a look. If anyone could help them it would be the old coot. Not that he would have shared such information with them if the tables were turned.

"You're lucky that we are different from you," Remus said reticently, brow furrowed deeply as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Remus," Regulus said.

"Regulus, you know that we could use his help. If _He_ keeps coming after Harry during the school year when we aren't there to protect him then maybe it would be best if _someone_ else knows," Remus said with a heavy sigh.

"At least we know he won't tell anyone, if only for his _greater good_ shite," Sirius snorted.

"Everything I do _is_ for the greater good-" Dumbledore started before he was abruptly interrupted by Sirius's harsh outcry of " _bollocks!_ "

Regulus pressed his middle finger and thumb on either side of the bridge of his nose by the corner of his eyes, inhaled deeply and then icily said, "would you all shut it?"

Silence.

Regulus straightened up, narrowing his eyes at Dumbledore as he put his hands on his hips—the position he oft took when scolding Caelum when he'd done something naughty. "We have something _life-changing_ to tell you, so you are going to be a good wizard and shut the fuck up and listen. When we're done you're not going to breathe a word of this to anyone and you are going to assist us when we ask. No. Questions. Asked."

Dumbledore blinked blankly at Regulus for a long moment, sitting back in his chair and folding his hands in his lap, cowed into silence.

A surge of power raced through Regulus's veins and he had to hold back the smile that was threatening to spread across his face. "Now that's more like it...it all started…"


End file.
